Bloodline
by CommanderBarbie
Summary: The Vampires are threatened by powers even greater than themselves. Damon and Elena must fight to protect everything they hold dear, including what they love most while Klaus and Caroline must learn what it means to be in a relationship. Prophecies. Originals. Witches. It all boils down to bloodlines.
1. Preface

PREFACE

"They say you'll hear them singing before you ever see them. It is said that the Watchers are so beguiling, so seductive that just the sound of their voices can entice a woman into their arms and to her doom," a quiet voice broke the silence, grim but melodic in tone.

An air of finality hung over the room, lingering between the ten people inside the old boarding house and the three standing guard outside. Unspoken words hovered in the air; Words of loss. Grief. Goodbye. For once, everyone in this house was on the same side, which was remarkable, really, as it had been nearly one year to the day since this entire chain of events had been set in motion.

Just when Elena had thought she couldn't lose anything else, the stakes had risen even higher, and now she could lose everything all over again. She watched, frowning from her chair near the fireplace, as Damon paced furiously, holding his untouched glass of bourbon in one hand, the other clenched in a fist, a hard look on his handsome face. Elena could tell he hadn't slept in days, his eyes were swollen with exhaustion. He must have felt her gaze on him, because he glanced up for a moment and met her eyes tiredly. She nodded in understanding, managing a small, sad smile.

They'd all faced obstacles, that was true enough, but this time was different. There was more to lose. They'd already suffered one of their greatest losses barely a week before. As always, it touched Elena that so many people were willing to protect her.

She only hoped it wasn't at the expense of more lost lives.


	2. The Smell of Blood in the Morning

**June 8, 2011**

Someone was bleeding.

It was the first thing Elena smelled when she woke up. Blood. It wasn't until she disentangled herself from Damon's arms and slipped out of the bed that she realized it was her. The entire front of her panties was covered in bright, vivid red. Which was really confusing, since she hadn't bleed from _there_ since October.

Since the accident.

She knew her window of time was closing, as within a few minutes, Damon would realize she wasn't in bed and would then smell the fresh blood. Frantically, she retreated to the room that was technically hers and found some new underwear, padding it generously with toilet paper. Throwing on some clothes, she rushed out the door, praying Stefan wasn't awake yet to catch her.

Luck was on her side as she sped across town, taking the turns at breakneck speed. It really was a miracle that she didn't get pulled over. Damon would have been proud. If she wasn't so freaked out, she might have found that thought amusing. She parked the car and practically threw the door open, knocking impatiently on the door. A moment later, the tousle haired blonde figure who was usually the impeccably dressed Caroline Forbes opened it wearing worn sweats, her hair haphazardly tied at the top of her head.

"_Seriously_, Elena?" She sighed, yawning. "It's not even seven!"

"Sorry," Elena winced, giving her friend an apologetic smile. "I have a problem."

"I know," Caroline nodded, "I'm guessing it's still asleep at the boarding house," she quipped, earning a glare. "Hey, _you_ woke _me_ up." Elena sighed. She had a point. "Okay, so what is it?"

"Um," Elena began, unsure of how to delicately say it. "I'm bleeding."

"So what?" Caroline replied, stretching and guiding her into the kitchen, withdrawing the can of Folgers from her pantry. "You'll heal."

"_No,_ Caroline," She insisted, lowering her voice in case Sheriff Forbes was home for some reason. She gestured to her problem area. "I'm _bleeding…_down _there."_

"Oh, _ew!"_ Caroline groaned, forgetting the coffee. "What do you mean? Like, Aunt Flo bleeding?" Elena nodded, mortified. "Maybe you're having a reaction to something. Have you fed on anyone with a drug problem or something?"

"Okay, first of all, _no…_" Elena answered curtly, rolling her eyes, "I'm a strictly blood bag kind of girl. And second, it's like, fresh blood. It smells like _human_ blood."

"That's not possible," Caroline exclaimed, leaning against the counter and fiddling absently with her bracelet, before looking up. "Meredith!"

"What?"

"Maybe Meredith can help us figure it out. I mean, I'm sure she can like, give you a pelvic exam or something," Caroline shrugged, biting her lower lip. "In the meantime—" She left the room and returned less than two seconds later with a small white package in her hand, "—here's a tampon. Until we figure out what's going on." Elena nodded, composing herself and giving her friend a quick grateful hug.

"Thanks, Care."

After she'd taken care of the stoppage issue, she returned to the kitchen, inhaling deeply at the smell of freshly made coffee. It was a comforting smell and had been since she'd been a child. Her father used to wake up right before sunrise every morning and make coffee, filling the house with the aroma. A lump formed in her throat as she remembered running through the halls of that house with Jeremy toddling after her, laughing his sweet baby laugh…

God, she hated when the humanity crept back in.

Turning it off hadn't worked very well for her. It had seeped into her mind every subconscious moment…every time she closed her eyes, her memories would flood back, breaking her heart again. It hadn't gotten any easier since she'd burned down the house with Jeremy's lifeless body inside, but at least she was learning to deal with the pain.

She missed him. They all did, but no one missed him more than she did…except maybe Bonnie, who had left town with her mother. Abby was trying to help her reconnect with the spirits and nature in a kind of magic rehab attempt.

Everything had escalated and then after, came the quiet. Nothing had happened in nearly four months. It was strange, re-learning how to live a mundane life, but Elena wasn't complaining. It was nice to wake up in the morning and not worry about some imminent doom or some new strange occurrence.

Except for today when she woke up bleeding from her downstairs.

"You like cream, no sugar right?" Caroline asked as she returned to the kitchen. Elena nodded, smiling and sitting at the table. The blonde set a mug in front of her. "Ugh, I don't know how you can drink it unsweetened like that…it tastes like dirt."

"Yeah well…I guess it's an acquired taste," Elena sighed, resting her cheek on her hand as Caroline meticulously spooned two teaspoons of sugar into her heavily creamed coffee. It made her smirk. "So, what's with the bag lady look?" She inquired, gesturing to the sweats. Caroline gave her a baleful expression, making her grin.

"I was going for comfort," She insisted, staring into her coffee as she mixed it. "It's not like I have anyone to impress since Tyler left and—" Caroline's eyes widened slightly, before she clamped her mouth shut.

"And?" Elena pressed, interested. Caroline shook her head, shrugging casually.

"And nothing. That's it. Since Tyler left. End of story. Fin." One thing people learned quickly about Caroline Forbes, was that she was a crap liar. Her face was very expressive, so the second she lied, all of the blood would rush to her face and she would start blinking wildly and flitting about like a hummingbird. It was adorable…when it wasn't completely frustrating or inconvenient.

"Uh, uh…" Elena met her eyes, "_Talk."_

"It's _nothing_," Caroline rolled her eyes. At Elena's skeptical look, she let out an indignant huff, "It's _nothing!"_ She repeated. Still, Elena was not convinced and Caroline must have figured out that she was caught, because a moment later, she sagged in defeat and growled, _"Fine…_When Klaus left for New Orleans he," her voice dropped, _"mitakistme."_

"I'm sorry," Elena laughed, "Was that even English?"

"_Ugh!"_ Caroline threw her hands up in exasperation, "Klaus _kissed_ me. Before he left."

"Gross!" Elena cried, cringing and laughing at the same time. "And you _let _him?!"

"You let _Damon_ kiss _you!"_ Caroline froze at the sight of her companion's triumphant expression, "And no I didn't _let_ him. He just _did _it."

"And you liked it," Elena finished for her, knowingly.

"Oh shut up," Caroline grumbled, drinking her coffee, though Elena noted, she didn't deny it. For once, she wasn't thinking about Jenna or Alaric or Jeremy being dead, and was actually smiling for real. It was kind of nice.

"Are you and Klaus going to move to _England_ and speak in British _accents _and have ridiculous pet names for each other like _Muffin_ and _Pookie?"_

"Oh my _God," _Caroline cried, though a smile was breaking through her glower, "You are _such _an idiot, Elena Gilbert!" But, a second later, she snorted, and both girls cracked up, guffawing until tears were coming out of their eyes. A jab of pain in her gut, however, cut the fun short as Elena doubled over. "Okay, fun time later. We're going to Meredith _now…_" Caroline's eyes fell to her dingy sweats, "Uh, after I change."

Five minutes later, they were on the way to the hospital, where Meredith was doing morning rounds. They had just pulled into the parking lot when Elena's phone went off, signaling that she had a text.

_Where are u?_

Silently cursing herself for forgetting to leave a note, she replied: _Had to run an errand. Be home soon._

_Hurry. _

–_D_

Rolling her eyes affectionately, Elena pushed her dread into the back of her mind, following blankly as she moved behind Caroline into the building, ignoring the enticing scent of blood that she was always greeted with when she came here. They caught Meredith at the nurses' station, checking over a chart. She looked up, obviously surprised at the sight of them that early in the morning.

"Hey," She said, smiling, "Everything okay?"

"Um," Elena glanced uncomfortably at the nearby nurse. "Can we talk in private?"

"Of course," Meredith nodded, gesturing for she and Caroline to follow. They converged in a quiet hallway. "What's going on?"

"I—"

"Elena's having a period," Caroline cut her off, giving her an impatient shrug. "Sorry!"

"What do you mean, _having a period?_" Meredith asked slowly, looking between the two girls.

"It's true," Elena affirmed, "I woke up this morning with blood all over my underwear and I have cramps and everything. Plus," She checked to make sure no one was within earshot, "it smells like human blood. Fresh." Meredith stared at her slack jawed for a moment, her brow furrowed in bemusement.

"I…uh…why don't I do a couple of tests?" Meredith suggested, attempting to look nonchalant and failing miserably. Elena wanted to melt into the tile floor in embarrassment.

"That's fine, but…" Elena bit her lip, "Damon can_not_ know about this." Her eyes settled on Caroline, "Or _Stefan."_ Her friend looked like she might argue for a second, but she conceded, nodding in agreement.

After Meredith had taken a sample of the blood and did a quick examination of Elena, she was speechless. In fact, they all were. Even though it was a physical impossibility, Elena was having a menstrual period. It defied every law of…well, _everything._

"Well," Meredith said, removing her gloves and crossing to the sink to wash her hands, "we'll see what the lab results say, but all of the physical signs point to a period. Your breasts are swollen. Your uterus is slightly swollen and the blood seems to show signs of cervical mucus and endometrial tissue."

"Gross," Caroline inserted, making a face. Elena gave her a pleading look.

"I can't really give you any other answers until the test results come back, but I would say if it stops within a week not to worry about it. We can re-evaluate next month if it happens again, but I think you're okay."

"How is this fair?" Elena asked, lying back against the pillow. "I thought one of the perks of being a vampire was that you _didn't_ have to deal with Aunt Flo?"

"Yeah, but when have you ever followed the rules of nature?" Caroline teased, smirking.

"Shut up," Elena muttered, "You kissed Klaus."

"He kissed _me,"_ She hissed defensively, making Elena snort in satisfaction again.

"Uh…" Meredith's voice interrupted meekly, "I'm gonna go check on those results." She fled hastily, closing the door quietly behind her. Caroline stood with her arms folded, looking positively furious and yet…Elena could see a chink in her armor. There was sadness in her friend's dark eyes.

Caroline had not only _kissed _Klaus. She _missed _him.

"You know I'm teasing you, right?" Elena said, reaching for her hand. "I mean, Klaus is a homicidal maniac, but if you see good in him, then I'll try to." Caroline rolled her eyes.

"No, Klaus is a homicidal maniac," She chuckled mirthlessly, squeezing Elena's hand. "But for some reason, my emotions won't take the hint and run far, far away. Ugh, it's not _fair!"_ She lamented, "Why do we have to be attracted to a-holes?"

"Because life isn't fair," Elena offered, "Hey, could be worse. You could be sired to him." Caroline gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah," She agreed quietly. The moment was broken when her phone rang.

"Speaking of the sire himself," Elena groaned, pressing 'IGNORE'. She knew Damon was going to have a fit, but she couldn't risk him coming down here and finding out that there was more weirdness going on.

"He is _not _going to like that," Caroline snickered.

"He'll live," Elena countered dryly, just as Meredith thankfully returned. "Oh good."

"It's a period," Meredith said, dumbfounded. "At least that's what the test results indicate."

"Great, now how do I keep Damon, uh…away for a week?" Elena sighed.

"Ew!" Caroline interjected haughtily to which Elena promptly replied, "_Klaus." _That shut her up.

Meredith shrugged apologetically. "That I can't help you with. Good luck."

"Thanks," Elena nodded, "For everything."

"Of course. Let me know if anything changes," She told them, before leaving the room.

Damon Salvatore was not happy. Elena had disappeared some time just after sunrise without so much as a goodbye or a note. And, after a very vague text, she had ignored his call, sending him straight into her voicemail, which meant she was either in trouble or hiding something from him…or both. At the moment, he was pacing the length of his bedroom, trying to decide whether he wanted to tie her to the bed when she returned or throttle her. It wasn't as if he could talk to his brother about it. Elena was still a touchy subject with the two of them, even though Stefan swore he was over the whole thing.

The sound of the front door brought him out of his thoughts as he stormed out of the bedroom, barefoot and shirtless, ready to berate her into next week. Until he saw the look on her face. She was pale and her face was drawn with worry. She looked far too much like human Elena in that moment. It was unnerving. Something was wrong.

"Where ya been?" He asked, attempting to sound nonchalant even though he was clenching his jaw. Her dark eyes widened, but he saw her try to look casual, giving him a smile that didn't meet her eyes.

"Oh, I was just helping Caroline with her entrance essay—"

"Don't _lie…_" He warned, advancing on her like a hunter to prey. "Tell me the truth, Elena." He watched her resolve crumble and her shoulders slump as he reached her, pulling her closer to him. That's when he smelled it.

Blood.

"Do you smell that?" He asked, looking into her amber eyes and seeing them fill with guilt. Confused, he waited for her to explain.

"I, um…" Her eyes flitted to the door, obviously looking for an escape.

"Uh-uh…" Damon crooked his finger underneath her chin and tilted her head to look up into his eyes. His voice softened. "What is it?"

"I'm bleeding," She whispered. He stared at her, uncomprehending. It was common knowledge that if a vampire was bleeding that they would simply heal themselves quickly. "I'm bleeding down _there…_" She went on miserably, "I woke up covered in blood. Caroline and I went to Meredith. She did some tests…I'm having a…uh, a menstrual cycle."

"That's not possible…" Damon murmured, letting his hands fall to his sides as he tried to think of an explanation…of some instance when a vampire had bled from her…

Nothing.

He could think of nothing.

"Maybe we could ask Rebekah or—"

"It's okay," Elena comforted him, "We're going to keep an eye on it and—"

"It's not _okay," _Damon snapped, glaring at her, "This isn't _normal, _Elena! We're vampires. Technically, we're _dead._ Which means…our bodies don't do what – _alive_ - peoples' do!"

"Well, apparently, mine does!" Elena retorted in an acid whisper, "And keep your voice down! Do you want Stefan to hear?"

"Hear what?" Stefan's voice came from behind them. Lovely.

"Elena's bleeding and she tried to hide it from us," Damon responded without sparing him a glance, giving his girlfriend a reproachful look, "Told on you," he added, sticking his tongue out at her, making her roll her eyes in irritation.

"Ass."

"Mule," he returned, smirking and raising an eyebrow at her.

"Isn't that the same thing?" Stefan quipped, moving into the room and leaning against the door frame.

"Same animal, different meanings," Damon dismissed, returning to scolding Elena. "You should have told me."

"I didn't want to worry you!" She protested.

"Elena, I _love_ you! You're _supposed_ to worry me!" He cried in frustration.

"That's my cue," Stefan sighed, checking his watch. "I told Rebekah I'd have breakfast with her. Give her hell, brother." He gave Elena a sad smile, before turning and leaving.

"I didn't know they were still dating," Elena mused, but Damon was not swayed. He shook his head.

"Don't even try it. You're still in trouble." His eyes narrowed on her. "Why can't you trust me enough to include me?" He asked. "How many times do I have to tell you? We are in this _together._"

"I guess I didn't want to worry you, because I figured if I didn't worry you, I wouldn't have to worry until it was time to worry," She confessed. Damon sighed, pulling her into the warmth of his chest and resting his cheek atop her head, closing his eyes. After eight months together, he still couldn't believe she was his (if he was being sickeningly saccharine, and at the moment, he felt as such).

"You know, that literally made no sense," He pointed out. A moment later, a muffled sound dangerously akin to a snort escaped her, making him smile.

"Ass," She said into his shoulder.

"Mule."

"Meredith said that she doesn't think I have anything to worry about," Elena told him, pulling back and looking up at him. "She said it's probably just a one-time thing. An anomaly."

"What if it isn't?" Damon asked, perching on the arm of a chair and pulling Elena to stand between his legs. He reached up and brushed a strand of mahogany hair behind her ear. She took a long breath and shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess we'll cross that bridge if and when."

"Don't talk about bridges," Damon cringed, thinking of that awful night when Elena and Matt drove off of Wickery Bridge. He couldn't even think about what would have happened had Meredith not used his blood to heal her.

But, he didn't have to. She was still here. By some miracle, she had chosen him and she was still _here._ So, whether or not he trusted her, for what she'd done for them, he certainly owed Meredith his gratitude. A slow, wicked grin spread over his face as he stood and swept her up into his arms.

"What are you doing?" She asked, giggling breathlessly as she pushed her loose hair out of her face.

"Let's take a bath," He suggested, kissing her nose and racing up the stairs with her in his arms, squealing with laughter.

"This is _pathetic,_ Caroline Forbes," Caroline sighed at her sad reflection after her shower. "He is a _sociopath._ Remember?"

How had this happened? When had she actually developed feelings for the biggest psycho on the planet? Was it when he'd kidnapped her best friend and essentially killed her to break a curse so he could build a race of hybrids? Or maybe it was when he turned her boyfriend into a hybrid. Or when he'd sent Tyler running from him for turning said hybrids _against _him? No, it _had_ to be when he'd bitten her to spite Tyler.

What had changed?! Was it him? Or her?

"_We all want the cure." _

"_Do we? Do you?" _

"_It doesn't matter. There's only one, so it's not like I'm gonna get it anyway." _

"_But if you could…you wouldn't…would you? You prefer who you are now to the girl you once were. You like being strong. Ageless. Fearless. We're the same, Caroline…"_

Was it when he'd given her the bracelet she wears every day of her life? Or when he'd drawn her a picture and thanked her for being honest? Or maybe it was the way he called her "Love."

She didn't know. But it was infuriating! She didn't want to _like_ Klaus, much less be attracted with him. She didn't want to have to look past all of his wrongdoings. But, hadn't they all killed? Weren't they _all_ guilty in some way or another. Sweet, pure-hearted Stefan had a dark side…literally ripped people to shreds. Damon was slightly sadistic. She could be ruthless when she wanted to be, and though she hated it, Caroline could not deny the thrill she got from pursuing prey. Even perfect Elena had been a little crazy after Jeremy had died. Had killed three of their classmates. Kids they'd known since preschool. No one was perfect.

Good _God,_ was she making excuses for Klaus?!

She thought of the last time they'd seen each other. Two months ago. He'd come to the door, and knocked. Her mother had been doing a midnight shift.

"_What?" She said, looking at Klaus impatiently as he stood in the shadow of the light cast from the half full moon. _

"_Still angry with me, love?" He asked, half smiling down at her in that disarming way of his. It pissed her off. _

"_You want to kill my boyfriend and sent him running from you for forever," She answered tartly. "Yes, Klaus. I am _mad_ at you." _

"_Ex-boyfriend," He pointed out smugly. A low growl left her as she began to shut the door in his face. He stopped her. "I'm leaving, Caroline." _

"_Good," She cracked, "Don't let the door hit you on the ass." _

"_I'm leaving Mystic Falls," He corrected, sobering. The cockiness in his eyes was gone and replaced with something she didn't recognize. Sadness? Hope? She stopped in surprise, staring at him._

"_For good?" She asked, wondering why she cared. _

"_That depends," he responded, reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket. "I have some business to attend to in New Orleans. A protégé of mine has requested my help with a potential problem there." _

"_Oh," was all she could manage to say as he produced an envelope with her name elegantly scrawled on the front of it. _

"_I don't want you to open this until you miss me," He instructed, handing her the envelope. Caroline scoffed, giving him an incredulous. _

"_So, never?" _

"_I suppose I deserved that," He smirked. "Even if I don't believe you." _

"_What do you want me to say, Klaus?" She fired at him angrily, "Do you really expect me to fall in your arms after what you did to me? To Tyler?"_

"_Tyler is a coward. He left instead of facing his problems like a man," Klaus spat disapprovingly. "He abandoned you. He's lied to you. Believe, if you will, that nothing happened with he and Hayley, but I certainly don't. "_

"_He left because _you_ were going to kill him," Caroline accused, glowering up at him. _

"_Caroline, if I really wanted Tyler dead, he'd be decomposing in some ravine by now," He sighed. _

"_Yeah right," She muttered, "Well, enjoy your trip," she told him, starting to turn away. He caught her by the shoulders, holding her in place and cradling her face in the tips of his fingers. _

"_You _will_ miss me, Caroline."_

"_Will I?" She challenged. _

"_Yes," He whispered, leaning down until she could feel the warmth of his breath on her lips. Unable to watch, she closed her eyes as his lips covered hers fully, softly and completely. It was a soft, chaste kiss, but it sent a shiver down her spine and caused her to lose her breath. It was over almost as quickly as it had begun, and when she opened her eyes, Klaus was gone and Caroline was standing alone, holding his envelope in her hand. _

Caroline let out a sound of frustration, practically shoving her toothbrush back into the holder and bracing herself on the sides of the sink.

"You're an _idiot,_" She told herself, shaking her head and spinning on her heel toward her bedroom. She sat on the bed and practically tore the drawer of her nightstand out completely as she opened it and withdrew the unopened envelope reading _**Caroline **_in exquisite handwriting.

**Caroline,**

**If you're reading this, then you do miss me and I was right. I cannot atone for the things I've done during my existence in this world. I will not ask you to pardon my sins. I do not want you to for I am not sorry for them. But know this: Never have I, in over a millennium of living, ever felt as alive as you have made me feel this past year. When I see you, I see everything I want to be. You are my freedom, Caroline Forbes. My salvation.**

**Please know that every night before I close my eyes, I see your face and I am content. If I ever do have the good sense to die, I will die with your face on my mind. **

**I know I have caused you pain and for that, I am sorry. **

**I am yours, Caroline. **

**Eternally, **

**Niklaus Mikaelson**

Caroline reread the letter three times, barely even noticing that he'd included a drawn portrait of her wearing a tiara with the caption 'Queen of My Heart' scrawled beneath it along with his initials. Wiping away tears she hadn't been aware were there with the tips of her fingers, she carefully set the letter aside and reached for her phone, pulling up a number in her contacts.

He picked up after the first ring, even having the decency to sound surprised.

"Caroline."

"I miss you," She confessed, crying tears of self-frustration and strange relief. "Happy?"

"Oh, sweetheart," he breathed, sounding exhausted. "You have no idea."


	3. A Trail of Bread Crumbs

**June 14, 2011**

Summer was definitely upon Mystic Falls. It was already a record ninety-five degrees and it was only seven in the morning. A thick layer of humidity seemed to make everything sticky and damp. It was days like this that Elena wished they had a pool. Before her parents had died, she, Caroline and Bonnie would have all drove out to the lake house for the day and laid out in the sun. Caroline would have whined about how her skin doesn't tan. Bonnie would have still been claiming she was psychic and Elena would have probably been with Matt.

But her parents were gone. She and Caroline were vampires. Bonnie was a witch. Jeremy was…

Well, there was no use dredging it up again. He was gone, and he wasn't coming back. But the pain remained, though it had lessened to a dull ache in her chest compared to the blazing agony it had been at first.

Elena was relieved that morning when she got up and found that the bleeding had stopped. She'd been visiting Meredith daily to monitor it for any changes, but thankfully nothing had changed. It was a weight off of her chest, making her giddy as she practically skipped back to bed where Sleeping Beauty was still lying on his stomach, clutching his pillow. Flinging herself onto the bed, she shook Damon's shoulder to jostle him awake.

"Guess what?"

"Mmpf," was his response. Lifting his head from the pillow, he opened one eye to glance over his shoulder at her. "What?"

"No more bleeding," She informed him, grinning. He squinted at her tiredly for moment before recognition set in and his eyes widened in understanding, nodding in obvious relief. Rubbing at his eyes, he turned over and sat up, reaching blearily for the alarm clock.

"What time is it?" He asked, yawning.

"Seven."

"_Seven?"_ He cried, staring incredulously at her. "What are we doing up?" Grabbing her waist, he pulled her to lie down with him again. "It's summer. We sleep in." She laughed, trying to wrench herself out of his grip.

"No, you _butt_head!" She smacked him with a pillow, "What I meant to say was," She leaned down to whisper into his ear, "We're good to go…" This got his attention. In less than a second, she was pinned beneath him, her laughter dying abruptly as he pressed his lips to her throat.

"Well, don't mind if I do," He murmured against her skin, gliding his hand over the taut skin of her flat stomach and upward as she arched toward his touch. He nearly had her shirt over her head when her phone rang. He groaned in irritation as she made to reach for it. "_Don't…"_ He whined, making her roll her eyes at him and snicker. Picking up the phone, she gasped in surprise.

"It's Bonnie!" Pressing answer, she practically shrieked, "Hey!"

"I never did like that witch," He muttered, huffing melodramatically and moving resignedly to his own pillow

"Tell him the feeling is mutual," Bonnie's laughing voice came over the line. "Sorry I called so early. I get up at five now, so I sometimes forget it's way early for everyone else too."

"Oh, we were up," Elena assured her, adjusting to sit cross legged in the bed while Damon covered his eyes with his arm.

"Some of us still _are,_" He grumbled through gritted teeth. She quickly put her hand over his mouth, feeling her face flush. His eyes gleamed devilishly and she yelped, feeling the tip of his tongue run over her palm.

'_Stop,'_ She mouthed, pleading. "So, um…" Elena returned to her conversation, "How's magic rehab going?"

"Well, the good news is, the plants are growing!" Bonnie answered brightly. "The bad news? Still no response from the spirits. My mom says to keep trying and eventually, they'll forgive me. But I don't know."

"Well, I'm sure they will. You're too good a witch not to," Elena assured her, slapping Damon's hand away when he tried to reach up the front of her shirt again. Sitting up, he leaned close to her ear.

"You have two minutes to wrap this up before I rip every shred of clothing off of you," He warned in a quiet, lethal murmur. She nearly dropped the phone, freezing at the unbridled look of triumph in his icy eyes.

"Look, Elena," Bonnie sighed, "I'm actually calling because I had a dream last night…about Jeremy." Damon stopped, hearing this and sobered knowingly. Elena didn't respond. She didn't really know how. Jeremy was sort of a taboo topic with them all now. No one brought him up for fear of setting her off again. She knew it was true, which was embarrassing, but at the same time, she was grateful, because she didn't have to face it. Bonnie continued, "He told me to tell you that he's crossed over, to where your parents and Jenna are and that he's at peace." Elena let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as her eyes welled up. "E-Elena?"

"Yeah," Elena choked, sniffing. "Here."

"He said to tell you he's happy and that he loves you very much," Bonnie explained in a thick voice, "But he also said something else."

Damon's eyes settled, unblinking on her as she gripped the phone tighter, his mouth was set in a grim line.

"What did he say?" Elena urged impatiently, accepting Damon's proffered hand and closing her eyes in wait.

"He said a number. Two numbers, actually," Bonnie admitted, "Three fourteen. Does that…mean anything to you?"

"No," Elena replied in bemusement, "Nothing. Did he say anything else?"

"No," Her friend returned. "I'm sorry. I just…thought you should know." Bonnie paused for a moment, "Well listen, Mom wants me to help her outside, so I have to go. But, um…I miss you."

"I miss you too," Elena agreed tightly. "Can I visit you soon?"

"Yeah, of course. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," Elena quietly told her goodbye and hung up the call. Damon sighed, understanding, and opened his arms for her. She gratefully accepted his offer, allowing him to gather her in his lap and rub soothing circles on her back with the tips of his fingers.

"You alright?" He asked after a few beats. She nodded, resting her cheek against the warmth of his chest. She nodded, looking up at him and managing a small, bittersweet smile.

"Yeah. I just miss him."

"I know you do, honey," His voice was gentler than the normal sardonic tone he adopted. He gave her an encouraging nod, kissing her forehead. "Okay, new topic!" He insisted, changing the subject and taking her hands, much to her gratitude, "What, do you want for your birthday? Ya know, as in next Wednesday?"

"I want to go away for the weekend. Somewhere else," She told him. "Just get away for a little while."

"Hmm…" Damon murmured, adjusting so that she was sitting between his legs with his arms around her. "Maybe," He ghosted his lips over her ear, "New York?" Elena's breath caught, but she shook her head. "No? Then…" He kissed below her ear, "Paris?" She gave a breathless laugh, but shook her head again.

"No. I was thinking more along the lines of a cozy bed and breakfast where we could stay inside all day," She admitted sheepishly, turning to look him in the eyes. "Maybe Maine or Vermont or something?"

"This is why I love you. You're so low maintenance," He chuckled, "I'll see what I can find."

"Is that the _only_ reason?" Elena asked, pretending to pout. Damon spun her around and settled on top of her.

"I can think of other reasons…" His lips twitched upward wickedly, as she looked skyward in mock exasperation.

"You have a one track mind."

"Yes, I do," he agreed.

"What's up?" Stefan asked when Caroline showed up at the coffee house. "Why the urgency?" She sighed miserably, shrugging.

"I think I've finally cracked. I'm certifiable," She groaned, slumping into the chair across from him and happily accepting her favorite, white chocolate mocha from him.

"Well, I'm sure it can't be _that_ dire," He laughed, "Though you do get pretty intense when you're party planning…or micro managing…or picking out clothes…"

"Shut _up,_" She squealed, smacking his arm, "I need _help,_ you tool!" Taking a sip of the coffee, she bit her lower lip, before it started spilling out of her. "Okay," She breathed, nodding to herself, "So, Tyler left town because Klaus wanted to kill him. And then _Klaus_ left town and he kind of, you know…_kissed_ me…and gave me this letter, but told me not to open it until I missed him. And I didn't want to miss him, you know? But I can't help it, and I totally have feelings for him…not that I _want_ them…and I miss him and I opened the letter and it was beautiful and I don't know what to do." Stefan stared at her blankly with his mouth slightly agape, no hint of emotion or reaction on his face, before bursting into laughter.

"I'm sorry…_what?"_ He finally said, composing himself and wiping his eyes.

"Weren't you listening?!" She cried, glaring at him.

"Yeah," He nodded, "I think that was the problem."

"Stefan, _seriously?"_ Her voice rose on the last word. "I'm _freaking _out, here! I'm glad you think this is _funny!_"

"Caroline, I'm _sorry,"_ He insisted, still trying to calm his mirth. "It's just…_funny._ I mean, you hated Klaus…and now, you have a thing for him? This is the guy who turned Tyler into a hybrid and has bitten you…almost let you die."

"He wouldn't have let me die," She countered defensively, "And _I'm_ sorry, aren't you the one doing it with Psycho Slut-bekah?"

"It's not like that, Caroline," Stefan told her firmly, "Rebekah and I are friends. That's it. We did have…a sort of relationship—"

"Sex," Caroline inserted sharply. Stefan nodded, looking slightly irritated.

"Yes…we had sex. But since that whole debacle with the cure…and Silas…we just…we're better off as friends." He met her eyes squarely, clasping his hands and resting his chin on them. "As for you and Klaus…that's your call, Caroline. You see good in Klaus. I've seen it too. I _still_ see it. And if I'm being honest, it's mostly when he's with you. You bring out the best in him…I think you could be good for him, but…"

"But?"

"Just…" Stefan covered her hand with his. "It's not up to you to save him, okay? If he wants to be saved, that's one thing. But you can't force someone to change. That's up to them." Caroline relaxed, giving his hand a light squeeze. "Thank you. And thank you for being _honest_ with me."

"Anytime," He assured her, closing his eyes as a breeze blew through. "Ugh, finally. Wind."

"Why don't you guys just spring for a damn pool?" Caroline asked, scooting her chair beside his and grabbing her coffee.

"It's still a little weird around there…ya know, I feel like a third wheel sometimes…" He confessed, putting his feet up on another chair and draping an arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah," Caroline agreed, sympathy tugging in her chest for him.

"But, in a way…it's good too. I mean, it's kind of nice getting to know Elena as a person and not letting my love for her get in the way of my opinion. She's funny as hell."

"Oh, believe me…I know," She muttered, remembering Elena's reaction to her kiss with Klaus. "You may not believe me, but before her parents' death, she was the one with the dirty mind and the prank ideas. She was always coming up with these schemes to make people laugh. Her dad was a really funny guy, and she and Jeremy both had his sense of humor."

"So, she was the funny one and you were the controlling one…and Bonnie was…?"

"The peacemaker," Caroline laughed. "Elena and I tended to clash, because I was always so uptight. So worried about pleasing my Dad. And it made me mad, because Elena's parents were so proud of her no matter what. I was jealous for a long time."

"I remember," He affirmed. "You were so insecure when we met…and you had no reason to be, you know. You're a perfectly lovely girl. You're gorgeous and fun and a complete bad-ass."

"You're gonna make me cry," She joked, elbowing him, "But thanks. I know that now. And I'm cool with it."

"Well, _yeah…_I mean, you _do_ have the world's most sadistic hybrid vampire-werewolf in love with you, so I guess you're doing something right…" Stefan quipped, winking at her.

"You're a douche," She snorted, but the two of them cracked up. "God help me."

Handing her coffee to her, he touched his cup to hers.

"I'll drink to that."

"So, he's just going to leave and that's that?" Rebekah asked her brother, balancing the phone between her ear and shoulder as she twisted her hair, looking out the window at the black clouds nearing. There was going to be a storm and it was going to be big. She could feel it in the air.

She'd never liked storms. Not since she'd been a child, so many, many years before. When the thunder would come, she would take shelter with one of her brothers, usually Elijah or Nik. Her father hadn't tolerated such theatrics, as he called it. There were other things to worry over, such as chores. And werewolves. After a thousand years, thunder still made her want to crawl underneath her covers and be held until the sun decided to come back. Now, there were only three of them left. Finn, Henrik, Kol and Aaron, who hadn't even lived to see his adolescence, were all gone now. How cruel life had been then.

A thousand years on this Earth, and still she hadn't found the person she wanted to spend her days with. She'd thought Alexander would be the one, but he'd turned on her. It seemed, they were all unlucky in love. Finn with Sage. Elijah and Klaus both with Tatia.

Which brought them to their current issue.

"Apparently, a thousand years hasn't been enough time to get over it," Nik's sarcastic voice came through the ear piece. She could tell he was rolling his eyes.

"Are you saying you have no intention of going?" Rebekah inquired. "I mean, you loved her too, Nik."

"Loved," He scoffed, "Past tense. Elijah was a fool then…and he's a fool now. Even if he find's Tatia's tomb, he's not going to be able to wake her. He needs a witch."

"What about little what's-her-name?" Rebekah offered, checking her reflection and smoothing a piece of flaxen hair off of her forehead.

"She's currently trying to regain her abilities if you recall. Our little run in with Silas left her slightly lacking…" Nik reminded her. "He's not going to be able to find her. Our mother was nothing, if not thorough in her determination to make things impossible for us."

"Poor Elijah," She sighed, feeling a twinge of sorrow for her oldest living sibling. "He's never been himself since Tatia disappeared. Perhaps you were right, Brother…love is weakness."

"You, of all people, don't believe that, little Sister."

"But you do," She inserted. When he didn't answer immediately, she took this as confirmation. "I thought as much," She chuckled. "What else did the two of you find out?"

"Nothing yet, only that Esther preserved Tatia in some sort of eternal sleep. I suspect it has something to do with her using the doppelganger curse to bind my werewolf gene and create us. She's neither dead nor living."

"Well, what bloody good is she then?" Rebekah questioned in annoyance. Their mother had been an infuriating nuisance. It was no wonder the spirits had turned on her.

"Yes well, our noble big brother has made it his mission to find and free her. And, as you know, he still suffers from White Knight Syndrome."

"Just what we need, another Petrova running around here," She sighed, checking her clock. "Damn! I'm sorry Nik, but I need to go or I'm going to be late for work."

"Work?"

"Yes," She cringed, forgetting that she hadn't told him about her new job. "I'm working at the Mystic Grill for the summer…until college starts next fall."

"My, my…" Nik started, "You're just going all out, aren't you? Well, good for you. You should take advantage of your new freedom. It's a good time for women."

"I know," She smiled genuinely, "I'm excited to start college."

"What will you study?" He asked.

"That's the beauty, Nik," She gushed, "Whatever I _want."_ Checking the clock again, she let out a breath. "Alright, I really must go. When shall we talk again?"

"Sooner than later, little Sister," He promised. "Enjoy your mundane life." She shook her head, snickering.

"I shall."

_**If I could rewrite one historical event, it would be what and why?**_

Caroline impatiently tapped her fingers on her desk, staring at the blank document on her laptop. She was supposed to be working on her essay for the college summer writing program she was enrolled in, but she was distracted. The blistering hot day had suddenly become dark and had given way to violent thunderstorms. She loved storms. Her favorite sound was rain on the roof, backed by the soothing rumble of thunder. Summer in Virginia was given to some wild weather, from dry as a bone to hotter than Hades. So one either learned to accept and embrace storms…or lived in fear for most of the year.

She loved Mystic Falls. It was far enough south, where it didn't get snow, but not so far that it was unbearably hot or humid all the time. And in the fall, the leaves still turned. Maybe it had something to do with the magic of the town…or something. Or maybe it was just a damned miracle. Caroline never could understand why kids were so anxious to move away from home. What was so bad about Mystic Falls? It was quiet and pretty and quaint. Sure, it was overrun with the Supernatural, but hey…it kept things interesting. And it's not like she could really complain since she was _included _in the Supernatural.

She finally gave up the fight with her brain and closed the laptop, pushing away from her desk and frowning as the lights flickered. Storms, she liked. Power outages…nope. Her phone vibrated, making her jump.

_Mom._

"Hello?"

"Hi, Sweetie," Liz Forbes began apologetically, making Caroline fill with sudden, surprising melancholy.

"I take it you won't be home for dinner?" She asked in slight disappointment. Though she and her mother hadn't always gotten along, Liz was all Caroline had left and she'd be starting college soon. Moving out. After losing her father, Caroline had come to enjoy her time with her mother…however limited that time may be.

"It's more complicated than taking an extra shift, hon," Liz sighed, sounding, "There was some kind of an attack or something at some old ruins near the old Lockwood estate."

"Oh my gosh!" Caroline exclaimed, "Was it a…you-know-what?"

"No, we don't think so," Liz answered honestly. "We haven't actually found a body. But someone said they saw an explosion of some sort. We're thinking it's just kids being stupid, but you never can tell these days. Best to check it out."

"Well just…be careful, okay?" Caroline told her.

"I always am," Her mother responded gratefully. "I'll be home late. Possibly around one or two."

"I'll leave the porch light on," Caroline added, before they hung up. Dismayed, she plodded down the hall toward the empty kitchen, where she'd pulled out some chicken to make for dinner. No point now, if her mom wasn't coming home. A loud clap of thunder took her by surprise, making her jump as the lights flickered again. "Please, no…if I have to be home alone, at least allow me the guilty pleasure of Toddlers and Tiaras," she begged no one.

Growling in bored frustration, she decided to make her mother a plate to heat up when she got home. Checking her phone again, she sighed at the text message symbol…or lack thereof. It was driving her a little crazy. It had been six days since she'd read Klaus's letter, and had spoken to him on the phone. It hadn't been a particularly long conversation, but it had been nice. It had been strangely free of hidden implications and stress. Just two people talking about their day. No feelings had been brought up.

And then…nothing.

She hadn't heard from him since. Not a call. Not an email. Not a text. Hell, at this point, she would have taken an owl like in Harry Potter.

Fully irritated, she cracked eggs into a bowl and retrieved the bread crumbs from the pantry to bread the chicken. Fine, if Klaus wanted to toy with her, then she certainly wasn't going to make it easy for him. Two could play at that game. She turned her phone off and washed her hands, before lifting a chicken breast with a and dipping it into the eggs, then breading and depositing it into a casserole dish. By the time she'd finished with the four pieces of chicken, her hands were covered in egg and bread crumbs. She wiped her forehead with the back of her arm since her hands were a mess and poured cream of mushroom soup over the chicken, placing it in the oven to cook.

"Well aren't you the very picture of domesticity?" A voice behind her said, making her shriek loudly and whirl around, clutching a spatula in her crumb and egg covered hand like a weapon.

"_Klaus!"_ She screeched angrily, nearly having a heart attack. "What the hell?!"

"Er…surprise?" He offered. She glowered fiercely at him, trying to will her eyes to shoot lasers and punish him for the misery he'd put her through these past few days. And he didn't even have the decency to look contrite, a small smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. Agitated, she let out a noise of exasperation and dropped the spatula, flinging herself forward at him, fully prepared to attempt to rip his throat out and instead throwing her arms around his neck and launching herself upward, crushing her lips to his. She was distantly aware of his hands hesitantly settling around her waist, pulling her closer as he tilted his head for better access to her mouth. A small moan of urgency left her, which would have been humiliating if it hadn't been muffled by the tip of his tongue silkily running over her lower lip.

It was him who pulled back first, catching his breath and setting her carefully to her feet. "That was quite a 'Welcome Home'," he observed, grinning. She knew her face must be some awful shade of pink, but she didn't care.

"I should throw you out, you giant jerk wad," She admonished, "I call you almost a _week _ago to pour my heart out to you and you don't call or text again? What the hell?"

"There was a complication with my brother," He admitted, remaining remarkably stoic, considering they'd been an inch from disrobing each other only seconds before. "He's gone off in search of his long lost love…Tatia."

"Oh," She uttered, unsure of how to respond to something that sounded so simple and not veiled with hidden meaning coming from Klaus.

"What the bloody hell is all over your fingers?" He asked, eyeing her hands. Quickly, she hid her hands behind her back in embarrassment, rushing toward the sink.

"Oh my God," She lamented, turning on the faucet and thrusting her hands into the water, scrubbing at them. "I'm cooking dinner. I forgot. I hope I didn't get any on you!" Looking over her shoulder, she watched as he reached behind him and pulled a clump of eggy bread crumbs out of the back of his hair, a slow grin coming to his face.

"I'll take it as a compliment."


	4. Can't Hurry Love

**June 16, 2011**

"Okay, let's see…" Elena murmured to herself, scanning over the clothes she was packing. They were getting ready to leave for Maine on a vacation that Damon had planned in record time. Apparently, he really did have friends in every city as he sometimes liked to claim. The last time she'd had anything close to a vacation had been when she and Stefan had gone out to her family's lake house.

It seemed like a lifetime ago. For her, it was.

She'd been another person then…one with a future that included aging and children. Dying. But she'd accepted her new life, finally…after Jeremy's death, when she'd had her humanity turned off and had killed three people that she'd known practically since they were in diapers. Somehow, she'd fought the sire bond and had turned it back on, horrified by her actions. Thankfully, she had amazing friends who knew how to cover things up, although that didn't bring back the lives she'd taken.

"Underwear…check…" Elena chanted, "Pajamas…bathing suit—"

"You won't be needing _that,_" Damon's voice startled her, pulling her out of concentration as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "Private hot tub."

"I'm pretty sure if we actually go swimming, however, skinny dipping is frowned upon," She pointed out, turning her head to give him a quick peck on the lips.

"Aw man," He feigned a pout, throwing himself onto the bed with his arms behind his head, "You never let me have _any_ fun!"

"You'll have your fun," Elena lifted up a flimsy piece of lace lingerie to show him, biting back a satisfied look as his pupils dilated.

"Daddy, _like…_" He gave her a wolfish grin, taking the garment from her and examining it, "Too bad it's probably just going to get ripped off anyway." He shrugged nonchalantly, tossing it back to her. "You sure you want to drive?" She nodded.

"I love road trips," She said, "Every summer, my parents would take us in a different direction and we'd drive for three days before turning back. We met all kinds of people and found some really interesting stuff."

"Sounds _awful…_" Damon replied dryly, "Stuck in a car with your family for a week? No thanks. Can you imagine Stefan and I…?" He laughed. "We could barely stand sharing a dinner table."

"What about your other brother?" Elena asked, strapping in the last of her clothes and shutting the suitcase.

"What about him?" Damon asked, looking taken aback.

"What was he like?"

"Don't know," Damon shrugged. "We didn't know about him until his son Zachariah found us after his death…apparently Dad had naked fun time with someone that wasn't our mother. A name was Tobias."

"Oh." Elena didn't know what say, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I'm…sorry."

"For what?" Damon asked, dismissively, "It was a hundred and fifty years ago. I'm way over it. Back then, men had affairs like they had hobbies…Giuseppe Salvatore was no different."

"But you and Stefan aren't like that," Elena said, swallowing what felt like a cotton ball in her throat. "Right?" Damon's eyes narrowed, turning dark.

"I am _nothing_ like that man," He told her fiercely. "I've waited a century and a half to find someone like you, Elena. _No."_ She nodded, understanding and reaching for his hand.

"He would have been proud of you," She assured him, seeing his vulnerability, "Of both of you."

"Dad was never proud of me…for anything," Damon laughed, though it did not reach his eyes. "Nothing was ever good enough for him when it came to me. He used to say that he wished Stefan had been the first born."

"God…that's horrible," Elena whispered.

"It's over," He said with finality, "He's been gone a long time."

"That doesn't mean you have to pretend it never happened," Her voice was gentle, "But just know, that _everything _you do makes me proud." Damon snorted, though his eyes softened.

"You have to say that because you're sired to me."

"Am I?" Elena challenged, "Ever since I fought the bond and turned the humanity back on, I haven't felt the sire pull. Try me." He scooted closer, putting his hands on her shoulders and staring into her eyes.

"Elena, I want you to go into the bathroom and put on that black lacy getup and then let me handcuff you to the headboard. It would make me so happy," He smirked, raising an eyebrow in invitation. Elena's eyes fell to the folded lingerie and picked it up in her hands slowly. A sudden grin came to her face as she tossed it back at him.

"Nope."

He was visibly shocked, his mouth falling open slightly, making her snicker in triumph.

"Told you!" She stuck her tongue out. "Sire bond is broken…and in case you haven't noticed, I'm _still_ here." She took his face into her hands, brushing his unruly black hair off of his forehead.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, and she noticed his voice catch in his throat.

"Because the sire bond never _mattered_ to me, Damon…it only made me realize what I felt for you already," She touched her forehead to his, "This is it for me." He pulled her against him and roughly covered her lips with his, nipping tenderly at her bottom lip.

"How the hell do you live with me day to day?" He asked breathlessly, pulling back and staring intensely into her eyes. She crooked a finger beneath his chin and gave him an earnest look.

"With copious amounts of alcohol," Her voice was dead serious, but she couldn't hold back the laugh in her throat. To her relief, he cracked too, letting his relief followed immediately by what could only be joy overcome him.

"You won't be needing any of these clothes," He told her, gazing happily up into her face. It was absolutely wonderful to see him so unguarded for once, not hiding behind his sarcasm. "We won't be leaving the room."

"Ahem," An impatient, feminine voice came from the doorway.

"And we'll be _locking_ the door," Damon added, kissing her nose and getting up. "Hey, Vampire Barbie!" Looking over his shoulder at Elena, he smirked, "I'll let you two talk. If you want to be saved, the safe-word is _Blondie."_

"Bite me," Caroline sang at him, rolling her eyes as he left. "Ugh, I will never understand what you see in him!" She said moodily, storming toward the bed where Elena was still sitting.

"Something got ya down, Caroline?" Elena asked, trying not to laugh at her poor friend, who looked like she was at the end of her rope.

"It has been two days..." She said, sitting beside Elena cross legged with her back against the headboard. "Two _days_ since Klaus came home."

"Uh huh?" Elena answered, confused.

"He's driving me crazy!" Caroline confessed, desperately, running a hand through her curls.

"It's Klaus," Elena reminded her in amusement, earning a glare. "Isn't that kind of his bag?"

Her friend growled in frustration, "_No._ I mean, _yes…_but that's not what I mean," Caroline continued, "I don't know what I have to _do,_ Elena. My mom's been working nights…there's only so much cleavage I can show before I start showing nip!"

"Uh…sorry?" Elena chortled, completely confused.

"_Sex,_ Elena! He won't _sleep_ with me!"

Downstairs, Elena could hear someone spit out their drink (Stefan) and another person burst out laughing (Damon).

"Okay," Elena gasped, clutching her side, "Can we maybe start from the beginning?"

"Ugh!" Caroline leaned her head back against the headboard. "So, he surprised me Tuesday night and we kissed and it was awesome. But then…nothing! He's completely infuriating! He goes on and on with all of these romantic gestures…drawings and text messages. Seriously!" Caroline pulled out her phone and pulled it up to show Elena.

_**Sweet dreams, Love. I miss you already. –K**_

"But then, he'll barely touch me! And I didn't even _see_ him yesterday!" The blonde ranted, throwing her hands up in defeat. "What do I have to do? Show up on his doorstep in nothing but a trench coat?" There was a sardonic response from below that sounded dangerously like "Couldn't hurt," making Elena bite back a grin.

"Quit eavesdropping, you two!" She laughed, turning back to Caroline and giving her the most sympathetic look she could manage. It wasn't her friend's fault that she'd had the bad sense to fall for Klaus. "Have you talked to him about it?"

"Well, I was going to yesterday, but I didn't _see_ him!" Caroline sighed, "I cannot believe I'm getting all hung up on _Klaus…_this is ridiculous."

"Caroline," Elena countered dryly, "If anyone can save Klaus, it's you. But I couldn't, for the life of me tell you what gets the guy going. It could be anything from thigh highs to dressing like a clown."

"Oh my _God,_" Caroline groaned, burying her face in her hands.

"Just _talk_ to him. He obviously cares about you…if I had to guess, you're the _only_ thing he cares about. Go work it out with your psychopath," Elena patted her knee.

"Gee, thanks…" Caroline retorted.

"Anytime!"

"Hey, Rebekah," One of the waitresses at the Grill caught her as she was putting an order in, "Um, can you do me a favor?"

"Depends," Rebekah replied, carefully, though she managed a smile.

"I'm swamped with that party of ten in the corner. Can you grab drinks for table eleven?" The girl asked, nodding to where a group of rough looking older men sat.

"Sure," She answered, frowning. "Are they already drunk?"

"Probably," The other girl nodded breathlessly, "I think they came from another bar."

"Lovely," Rebekah sighed, grabbing her notepad and heading over to the table. "Good afternoon, gentlemen, my name is Rebekah. Kate will be your waitress, but can I get you some drinks while you're waiting?"

"Listen to that accent!" The biggest of the four said, leering up at her, "That's hot." Rebekah gave him a pitying glance. "We'll take a pitcher of the cheapest draft beer."

"Of course you will," She muttered under her breath, forcing a smile and walking toward the bar. Not paying attention, her foot caught on someone's extended foot and she knocked into a girl carrying a full daiquiri, which promptly spilled all over the front of her shirt.

"Sorry!" The girl called after her. Rebekah gestured that it was fine and headed to the bathroom to try and salvage it. By the time she'd finished dabbing it clean with a wet paper towel, the entire front of her shirt was see through, which was slightly mortifying. She didn't even have a sweater to pull around herself. Exhaling resignedly, she exited the bathroom and nearly collided with a tall, solid form. She instantly recognized the man who had been practically salivating as she'd taken the drink order.

"Careful, pretty girl…" He rasped at her, "Wouldn't want to get yourself in trouble now."

"Sorry," She said apologetically, though she would have loved to rip out his spleen. "Better be getting back to work."

"That's a hell of an accent you got there, girly," He chuckled, sounding like a freight train.

"Had it my whole life," She told him smartly, attempting to sound cheery. His eyes fell to the transparent front of her shirt, and she watched in disgust as he actually licked his lips.

"What do you say to a fifty percent tip?" He asked, starting toward her. Surprised, she jolted backward, hitting wall and finding herself cornered. In a few moments, she would be forced to beat him senseless, but she didn't exactly want to out herself to the unknowing patrons.

"No thanks," She replied, "I'm not your waitress. I was just getting your drinks. And by the way, last I checked this was a restaurant, not a brothel."

"Ooh, fiery…I like that," He gave a gravelly chuckled, reaching out to touch her. Instinctively, she began to crouch so that she could spring on him, but luckily they were interrupted.

"Hey! What's going on here?" Rebekah sagged in relief. Count on Matt to come to a girl's rescue. No wonder that little twit April liked him so much. Of course, she couldn't see what he saw in her…mousy little thing. What had possessed him to ask her out was beyond Rebekah.

"None of your business," Rebekah's companion told him gruffly, "Run along now."

"Leave her alone," Matt warned, coming closer. She met his eyes over the man's shoulder and felt a small tug in her chest. The man turned, closing his fist. Matt braced himself, prepared to punch the guy. Rebekah saw her opportunity and pinned the man against the wall, glaring into his watery eyes.

"You and your friends are going to leave and never come in this restaurant again. You will respect women from now on."

"Me and my friends are going to leave and never come in this restaurant again," The man repeated blankly, "I will respect women from now on."

"Good. _Run_ along now…" She added snidely, mirroring his words to Matt a few moments before. He left with all haste. Turning to Matt, she smiled.

"Thank you."

"'Course," Matt said, turning to leave, but pausing. "My father was like that. Pushy…handsy…I can't stand douchebags like that."

"Oh…" Rebekah said, unsure of what to say. Turning toward her again, his eyes moved down, noticing her shirt.

"Here," He said with a sigh as he removed his jacket and handed it to her. She took it, touched and pulled it around herself, zipping it up.

"Thank you, Matt." Her voice came out softer than she would have liked. He simply nodded and left her to get back to work. She stayed there for a moment, trying to process as she drew in a deep breath. A small smile curved her lips.

His jacket smelled like him.

Caroline knocked impatiently on the impeccable door to Klaus's house, running over the rant she'd prepared on the way over after leaving the boarding house. She bit her lip, tapping her foot nervously as she waited for him to answer the door.

"Klaus! I know you're in there!" She called out. Less than a minute later, the door opened and he was standing there holding his phone in his hand, staring in surprise.

"Caroline…" He murmured softly, keeping his eyes on her as he brought the phone to his ear, "Elijah, I'm going to have to call you back later. Let me know what comes of your little adventure." He hung up, pocketing the phone and gesturing for her to come inside. She flounced past him, arms folded, heels clicking on the marble floor. "Sweetheart, I wasn't expecting you…"

"Oh, don't you sweetheart _me,_ Mister!" She scolded, turning her gaze on him. "What gives?"

"Sorry…?" He asked cautiously, ushering her into the sitting room. "Drink?"

"Please," She affirmed, "Bourbon if you have it. What do I have to do, Klaus?"

"What are you going on about?" He asked, bringing her drink to her. "Is this some sort of female test?"

"_No,_ you ass…" She snapped, taking a swig of the burning liquid, "You came to my house two nights ago…you kissed me…and that's it! You left. Then yesterday, I didn't even _see_ you! Are you punishing me?"

"Punishing you?" Klaus asked, to his credit sounding completely bemused by her accusations.

"Well, that's what it _feels _like…you've been trying to get with me for like, a year now and we finally get together and then it's Abstinence City?" She watched as his eyes filled with understanding. He took a seat beside her and gingerly took her glass from her, setting them both on the table in front of them.

"You're angry with me because I haven't _slept_ with you?" He asked incredulously, obviously trying (unsuccessfully) to suppress the smile threatening at the corners of his mouth. "My goodness, but you are a fascinating creature…" He beamed genuinely at her. It caught her off guard, that megawatt real smile of his. Not the fake, calculating sneer he enjoyed when he was trying to intimidate, but his true smile. He looked almost completely different. It made her freeze for a second. "Come here, love…" He beckoned tenderly, holding his arms out to her. She kept her eyes narrowed, wanting to pout, but his smile did not falter. "Caroline…" He pleaded. Throwing up her hands in defeat, she reluctantly scooted forward and let him draw her into his arms. "Just when I think I have you figured out, you go and surprise me." He murmured into her hair. It was deliciously comfortable, letting him hold her. "I'm not used to being wanted by you," he chuckled, kissing her forehead.

"Yeah, well…surprise, surprise…I'm just like every other insecure, clingy girl," She muttered bitterly, embarrassed.

"You're nothing like other girls," He insisted, "I've been alive for a thousand years, and I've never met anyone like you. You fascinate me endlessly."

"Why?"

"Everything's always come so easily to me. I learned very early on, that the only way to get ahead in this world is to intimidate. To conquer…and then I met you, and you just weren't impressed…and I was intrigued. It became my dearest mission to get your attention."

"Well you _have_ it," She told him impatiently, pulling back to look up into his eyes, flickering electric blue in the dim light of the room. "So _do_ something about it!" Taking initiative, she rose up and tilted her head, closing the distance between the pair of them with a searing, intrusive kiss. She heard him hiss through his teeth, feeling his hand come to the back of her head, holding her there as he lovingly explored her mouth with his tongue. Matching him, she flicked her tongue forward to meet his, letting out an involuntary mewl of pleasure when he grabbed her by the waist and turned them so that he was lying atop her on the sofa with his leg settled comfortably between hers. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced, even in her early days with Tyler. It was as if every nerve in her entire body had come to life and was drawing her toward Klaus like an invisible magnet.

Reaching down, she ran her fingers over the slope of his sinewy back and found the hem of his shirt, pulling it upward so that she could feel his skin beneath her fingers.

"Caroline…" He drawled against her throat, running his hand lovingly over one fully covered breast, making her hips jerk upward of their own accord. Before he could do anything, she had his shirt off and tossed aside, squirming beneath him to remove her own. Her eyes opened when she felt the evidence of her effect on her through their clothing. Klaus languidly moved his himself against her, creating a marvelous friction.

"Please…" She heard herself beg against his achingly soft lips. He smiled into her kiss, caressing her cheek and pulling away slowly.

"No," He told her softly. "Not today…"

"What?" Her eyes opened again, "_Seriously?"_

"Caroline…" He sighed, drawing her up into a sitting position with a slightly pained expression on his face. "As much as I would love nothing more than to sweep you up in my arms and take you upstairs to my bed, I can't."

"Why _not?!"_ She demanded, full of need, wanting to stamp her foot or break something.

"Because you aren't ready, love." He was gazing at her with heartbreaking tenderness. Astounding for someone who had once been a heartless killer.

"No, I'm pretty sure I _am,_" She argued, squeezing her legs tighter together and willing her body to stop throbbing with want.

"Physically you are, yes." He agreed, raking his eyes over her lustfully, before steeling himself against his own baser urges.

"Then what's the problem?" She asked impatiently.

"It's not a problem, per se…it's a complication…a particular, really," He explained, taking her hand and twining their fingers together. "Caroline," His eyes bore into hers, "I have wanted you from the moment I first laid eyes on you. I have dreamed countless dreams about holding you against me. I have imagined waking up beside you. When you called me last week, you granted me the one thing I have ever dared to wish for. And, unfortunately sweetheart, I can't accept anything less than one hundred percent. I have wanted you for too long."

"What does that even _mean?"_ She asked, irritated with his riddles and games.

"It means, love, that until you can foreswear all other men and commit to me alone, we can't lie together. When you come to my bed, Caroline, you will never again be with another man. When you and I consummate whatever it is we have, you will be _mine,_ and only mine. And I need you to understand that before we can go to bed together." He pursed his lips, "I'm in this for the long haul. Don't you see, Caroline? You're my endgame…and I need to know I'm yours."

Caroline was speechless, staring slack jawed at her…whatever he was. Never since she'd begun dating…had become sexually active, had she ever had a guy withhold sex in lieu of commitment. In a way, she was floored, awed by the obvious depth of the emotion he had for her. But, on the other hand, she wanted to rebel. How could she commit only to him forever, when they would live _forever._ It was one thing to live with somebody for a lifetime until you both died. But, when there was no death…no separation. No means to an end…could one realistically only be with one person for _eternity._ It was an awfully long time.

"That's what I thought," Klaus said, though he sounded more determined than disappointed.

"It's a lot to ask, Klaus," She argued, trying to reason with him.

"I know, love…" He soothed, pulling her in again to rest her cheek against his bare chest and lying down with her. "But I'm a patient man. I will wait as long as it takes."

"If I last that long," She grumbled, making him laugh.

"I have faith," he assured her.

"Look at him," Michael mused aloud, watching through the window of the Citadel at the young trainee in the courtyard, "So innocent. So unaware of what's coming."

"That's the problem with destiny, Brother," Rafe, equally tall, equally blond replied, joining him at the window, "We aren't supposed to know."

"I know," Michael sighed, watching the young soldier adeptly dodge the sword of his lieutenant. "I only wish we could warn him. I wish things could be different for David."

"It's out of our hands," Rafe cautioned, "We must leave it in the hands of _our_ better..."

"As always, you're right, Brother," Michael agreed. "That girl is our only hope of finally putting an end to all of this. Fitting, is it not, that a Petrova will destroy the very evil they descended from?"

"They may have descended from evil, but if anything, Petrovas have proven to be survivors. They should not be condemned for the sins of their sires," Rafe shook his head sadly, as the pair watch the young David receive praise from the lieutenant for winning the training match. The young man, grinned widely, accepting congratulations from his peers and shaking the lieutenant's hand. "She will be his undoing…"

"Why don't we worry about the Prophecy when the time comes, Brother?" Michael suggested practically, "We are still many years away from its realization." Rafe met Michael's eyes, a wry grin playing on his face.

"As always, you're right, Brother."


	5. Everything and Nothing

**June 17, 2011**

Elijah was tired. He was tired of trying to find people. He was tired of being responsible for everyone. He was tired of losing people. But, most of all, he was tired of being alone. When he'd waken in transition after his mother's ill-advised choice, he'd noticed that someone in their village was inexplicably missing…and that nobody seemed to even remember her.

_Tatia…_

The original Petrova. The woman whose blood have eventually spawned Katerina, and later, Elena. The one whom he and his younger brother had both fallen for. The one who had almost unknowingly turned them against each other. Elijah had fallen for her the second he'd laid eyes on her delicately featured face. Eyes the color of amber and hair the color of the richest mahogany. But it hadn't been her beauty that had captured his heart. Tatia had been, above all things, _good._ Pure. It was true that she'd born a child illegitimately and had been branded a harlot, but Elijah of all people knew that things weren't always as they seemed.

Tatia's innocence had been taken against her will, by her father's friend. In those days, a woman's word meant nothing, so she was faulted and scorned. Her child had been given to another couple, returning to the Old World and never to be seen again by her mother. Tatia had been a quiet presence in the village, doing anything that was asked of her. Elijah had met her when he and Niklaus were returning from hunting one afternoon and she had been gathering herbs. Tatia had a natural talent for cooking and making remedies. People claimed she had a healing touch, that just being near her was enough to extend one's life, which in those days, was quite a bit shorter than the present.

She had turned around and the brothers had seen her face and both had frozen. Elijah had been somewhat introverted, so his much more outgoing younger brother had done most of the talking. Unfortunately for him, Tatia had found herself drawn to Niklaus's fair hair and wicked sense of humor. Elijah hid his feelings for her, not wanting to upset his brother or the woman he loved, but his brother had been young and arrogant. He was somewhat neglectful of Tatia, which had led to her come to Elijah for comfort. She'd lamented to him about his brother's youthful negligence which was really just a young man choosing to spend his days hunting or training rather than picking flowers with her. Elijah had kissed her and had confessed his feelings to her and the couple had begun their own love affair. Niklaus had, of course, found out and tormented, Tatia had been unable to choose one of them. She couldn't bear the thought of hurting Niklaus by leaving him, and she couldn't bear to lose Elijah, which had only driven the brothers bitterly apart.

And then she'd disappeared. They'd become vampires, and though Niklaus had moved on through the centuries, had enjoyed the company of women, Elijah had not. Once every so many years, he would give in to his baser desires and lie with a woman, though taking special care that she looked nothing like his beloved. Blondes were his preference, because they didn't remind him of Tatia.

Until Katerina. And then, half a millennium later, Elena.

Elijah knew he wasn't in love with the doppelgangers, though he could have loved Katerina had she given him the chance, and had his brother not been a vengeful fool. Niklaus never did anything in half measures. Elena was intriguing because she was a mixture of Tatia and Katerina, though he saw more of the former in her. She was inherently good. People gravitated to her. She deserved to be happy, and if Damon Salvatore was the man to do that job, then Elijah was happy for her.

It had been in New Orleans that Niklaus's protégé Marcel had found a witch who spoke of a legend of a woman lying in eternal sleep. She supposedly slept in a tomb, hidden somewhere. But, what had really caught their attention, was that this sleeping woman had been put to sleep by the Original witch. Even more, that there was rumored to be a clue to her whereabouts in an ancient Grimoire which had belonged to Ayana.

They'd known immediately it was Tatia.

Niklaus had told him to forget her, but Elijah couldn't. He couldn't leave her to lie asleep for all time. Her life had been stolen from her too, by his mother's selfishness. So, he would search for her tomb without the help of his younger brother, because it was the right thing to do. If she could be woken, she could live her life again in a world that would not condemn her for something that hadn't been her fault. Even if she didn't choose to live that life with Elijah, at the very least she would be free.

Which brought him to Bonnie Bennett. Ayana's living descendant and alleged owner of the Grimoire. She was his only hope of finding this tomb. She had agreed to speak with him at her mother's home.

The door opened before he could knock, and he found he could walk inside since Abby Wilson was a vampire and she owned the house. He could tell that Abby was terrified of him, probably because of what had happened with her and his father many years earlier. If there was one thing Elijah did not take responsibility for, it was Mikael. Abby led him into a dining room, where Bonnie was seated.

She was much changed from the last time he'd seen her. She'd cut all of her hair off and had lost a significant amount of weight, though she still had a determined spark in her eyes. He gave her a grateful nod.

"Hello, Bonnie."

"Have a seat," She said softly, gesturing to the chair. "I've been poring through this Grimoire, the oldest one I have…the one my Grams gave me, and I'm not really sure what I'm looking for." Her voice was apologetic. Abby hovered near the door with a young man, looking unsettled. Bonnie gave her a reassuring look.

"Anything regarding a doppelganger, or eternal sleep? Perhaps a tomb?"

"All I've been able to find about a doppelganger is the spell that your mother used to create you," She sighed, "The immortality spell." Elijah sagged in defeat, praying for a miracle.

"Nothing about using the blood of a girl in there is there?"

"Well," Bonnie began, turning carefully to the page, "It says that a drop of blood must be ingested to complete the spell, but it doesn't say anything about a girl…or a doppelganger." She turned the page, shaking her head in disappointment, but froze a second later. "Wait a sec," She told him, "Only a descendant of the fallen will create immortality," She read aloud, making Elijah tense, "The descendant's blood will complete the spell…" She met his eyes, "But it still doesn't say anything about eternal sleep." She scanned again, peering closer at the book. "Wait…" Pushing the book toward him, Elijah rose and moved to better see.

Undoubtedly, there was a picture of what appeared to be a girl lying in sleep with her arms crossed over her chest. Beneath it was written, _Tatia._ His stomach dropped and his eyes burned.

_She lies beneath the white oak tree until her salvation. _

"Oh my God…" Bonnie murmured, her eyes widening. "I've never seen this, Elijah…seriously, this just appeared."

"Masking spell," Abby explained from the doorway. "Ayana was nothing, if not thorough."

"She's been in Mystic Falls this entire time…" Elijah said breathlessly, "Right beneath our noses…but, how to wake her?"

"It doesn't say anything else…" Bonnie sighed, turning the pages back and forth. "That's the end of it."

"Oh, Tatia…" Elijah sighed, closing his eyes and fighting the urge to scream in frustration. "She didn't deserve this."

"What is the fallen?" Bonnie inquired, closing the Grimoire. "It said a descendant of 'the fallen.'"

"I have no idea," He replied weakly, sitting down again, "I've never heard that." Gathering his wits, he stood and held his hand out to Bonnie. "I thank you," he told her, "Both of you," he added, looking at Abby.

"You're nothing like him, are you?" Abby asked, watching him closely.

"Who?"

"Mikael." Her mouth was set in a hard line, but her eyes were kind.

"If I'm not, that is my single greatest accomplishment," Elijah informed her, starting toward the door. "Goodbye, Bonnie."

"Bye," she said, sounding younger than she had before.

Abby stopped him before he could leave the house, grabbing his arm. "I hope you succeed."

"I…" He stopped, touched, "Thank you." With that, he left.

On the road to Mystic Falls, he called Niklaus, who took an uncharacteristically long time to answer his phone. "Brother," he snarled into the phone, sounding beyond exasperation.

"I found her." He could hear his brother draw in a sharp breath.

"Tell _nobody,"_ Klaus instructed, pausing before finally asking in a kinder voice, "Where is she?"

"Her tomb is beneath where the white oak was," Elijah admitted as his gut twisted into jealous knots he'd thought long gone. Klaus's dry response came after a short beat.

"Our mother had a sick sense of humor, didn't she?"

* * *

"Wow, how did you find this place?" Elena asked, watching the road go by as they drove. There was nothing, but what appeared to be farmland in this area.

"I've been around a while," Damon returned, grinning, "I actually found it by accident back in the eighties. It was kind of my nomadic phase. I wouldn't stay in one place for more than a month and so I just drove and found places. I've lived in pretty much every single state, save for Alaska and Hawaii, since you can't exactly get there by car."

"Will there ever be a time when I know everything about you?" She teased, covering his hand with hers. Instantly, his hand turned and clasped hers protectively.

"Eternity is a long time," He pointed out. It kind of made her heart flutter in a sappy, stupid way. The thought of spending forever with him was kind of amazing. And if she'd had doubt when they'd first gotten together, it was gone now. Elena knew now that there was nobody else she would rather spend all of time with.

"Do you ever wonder what it would have been like if you hadn't become a vampire?" She asked, watching his face as he drove. "You know, growing old? Getting married?"

"Knowing me , Elena," he began, "I would have probably married one of the bubble-headed Southern Belles that lived in my town and been miserable like everyone else my age. I would have had kids that would probably never agree with me on anything, and I would have ended up like my father, a judgmental, bitter old man with no one left."

"Geez," She laughed, shaking her head, "Nobody could fault you for being too optimistic, could they?"

"I'm a realist," He replied, "Once, I was young and naïve. Now, I'm not." Elena squeezed his hand, her heart hurting a little for him, because she knew that Katherine's betrayal had changed him. He'd become someone that he didn't like for a long time, and he was still learning to accept that even though he was different than before, he was still Damon Salvatore, and that had to mean something. Even if it took her until the end of eternity, she would make him see that there was good in this world.

"Well, for the record," she said, "I think you could have been a great father." He snorted.

"Yeah right," He laughed, "I can't even deal with _Stefan_ half the time. How the hell could I ever raise a kid?"

"My dad always used to say, parents aren't perfect, but they learn from their mistakes," Elena said fondly, thinking of her father's smiling eyes and bad jokes, swallowing a lump in her throat. Jeremy had reminded her so much of him. What she wouldn't have given to see them all one more time. "And Stefan's not your kid."

"No, he's more like a crabby old grandpa who got mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes and wants to complain to the manager at the nursing home."

Elena cracked up, smacking his arm. "Damon! He is _not._" They turned onto a dirt driveway, and that's when she noticed the house. It was cadet blue with white shutters and a big porch. It looked like a house out of a fairytale. "Oh my God," she cried, "Is that it?"

"Yep. When I found it, it was owned by an old lady named Aggie, but her granddaughter Justine took over for her about eight years ago, after she died," He explained.

Justine was in her thirties, with dark hair and eyes. She was dressed in paint covered overalls with her long hair back in a bandanna and a wide smile. In the corner of the room, two little boys played with toy trucks. "You must be Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore," She smiled, making Elena's eyebrows raise as she gave Damon a questioning look.

"That's us," Damon grinned at her, "This is my wife Elena."

"H-hey," Elena managed, rolling her eyes at his devilish smirk.

"You guys are paid up through the weekend," Justine told them, smiling and grabbing a key off of the hook. "Honeymoon?"

"Anniversary," Damon told her, putting an arm around Elena and winking down at her. "Had to get away from the kids for a couple days."

"Oh, I hear that," Justine nodded knowingly, gesturing to her two sons as a young man came into the room and took their suitcases to the stairs. "They are cute, but they're a handful." She smiled kindly, "You two will be in the master suite upstairs. King size bed. Jacuzzi. Let me know if you need anything."

"That's great, Justine, thank you," Damon told her, guiding her up the stairs. Elena let out an audible gasp as the door to their room opened. There was a trail of rose petals from the door to the bed, and a bottle of champagne was chilling beside the large, canopied bed. "Mrs. Salvatore?" Damon asked, smirking down at her.

"I can't believe you told her we were—" She cut off with a shriek as he whipped her off of the ground and into his arms.

"Married?" He chuckled, kicking the door closed behind him and bringing her to the bed. "I think she just assumed, but I wasn't going to correct her."

"You told her we have _kids,_" She reminded him as he laid her down and pulled off her shoes, before removing his shirt and tossing it to the side.

"Hey, Caroline practically comes to you for advice if she breaks a nail…she's like our, chatty, slightly annoying little blonde daughter. And then of course, there's grandpa Stefan," He gently tugged her shirt up and over his head. "He's a little grumpy, but he's full of stories."

"You're an ass," Elena giggled. "And if Caroline is our kid, then you _do_ suck as a parent, because she's…doing whatever it is she's doing with Klaus."

"Yeah, that's her problem," Damon rolled his eyes. "Apparently, crazed villain is the new sexy."

"You were kind of a crazed villain once," She said, pointing a finger at him, which he immediately caught in his hand, bringing it to his mouth and lightly biting her.

"Enough about the kids," He growled, crawling over her, "It's grown up time, Mrs. Salvatore."

"My apologies, Mr. Salvatore," She laughed.

* * *

**June 19, 2011**

Caroline was contemplating breaking something. The air conditioning had broken this morning, leaving the house a muggy, awful mess. Her hair was crazed from the humidity. Her face had a constant gleam of sweat, making it impossible to wear makeup. She thought about leaving, but she had to do laundry. She was down to her last day of clean underwear.

Of course, it didn't help that she was more sexually frustrated than an adolescent boy at the moment, so breaking something kind of sounded awesome. Dressed in an old tank top and a pair of shorts, she tied her hair up on top of her head in a messy, loose bun and tried to ignore the heat as she sorted clothes in her bedroom. It was the kind of heat that made the thought of eating anything _including _blood revolting.

"Stupid _socks,_" She muttered, tossing them into the whites pile. "Stupid cute useless _bras…"_ She grumbled, tossing the lacy red bra into another pile. "Stupid high maintenance hybrid _ass_," She added under her breath, wanting to pout. Even though she understood _why_ Klaus was doing it, it was effing frustrating. Although, even though he was withholding the goods, he was an oddly attentive…whatever he was to her. She felt stupid calling him her boyfriend. He was over a thousand years old. Boyfriend seemed so…no. Man friend? What was she, a divorcee? He was her…Klaus. That was all she could come up with.

"Caroline? You home?" Her mother's voice came from the front room. Glad for a distraction, she wiped her face with her arm and headed out to see her mom.

"Yeah, I'm here…" She sighed, leaning against the wall in the hallway. Her mother's face was streaked with dirt and she looked exhausted. "What happened?"

"We've been checking out that explosion at the old Lockwood ruins, but we haven't been able to find anything. But one of the deputies noticed something down in the dirt. We found a medallion of some sort. Unfortunately, the place is a little unstable, so we got a bit dirty. No harm done." Liz sighed. "They sent me home though. Said they thought I could use a rest."

"They're right!" Caroline nodded, "Go shower and take a nap."

"In this heat?" Liz laughed, "I'll be lucky if I can lay down."

"The repair guy is supposed to be here in…" She checked the clock, "An hour ago."

"Typical," Her mother laughed. "Well, I'm going to go take a cold shower. I'll be out in a few."

"Sounds good," She nodded, looking miserably back at her half sorted laundry. Thankfully, her phone rang, effectively saving her from returning to it. It was Matt. "Hey, Matt!"

"Care," He sounded a little ruffled, "Um, so I need help from an expert."

"Expert?" She laughed, "On what?"

"Shopping." He sighed miserably. "It's mine and April's one month anniversary tomorrow and I found out she's planning on getting me something, which means I have to get _her_ something. You know I'm not good with that stuff." Caroline laughed, despite herself, glad for the distraction.

"Let me change. I have to let Mom know that I'm leaving so she's here when the air conditioning guy finally shows his ass up. Pick me up in twenty, okay?"

"Thanks, Care," He returned gratefully. "You're the best."

"I know," She giggled, hanging up and rushing into her room after yelling to her mother what was going on. She threw on a comfortable yellow sun dress and fixed her hair so that she didn't look like the old lady who stole shopping carts from the grocery store.

Matt thanked her three times before they even reached the main street in town. It was nice to hang out with someone and just be a normal high school graduate for once. To not care about anything but anniversaries and college and summer. She instructed Matt to go to a small boutique next to the ice cream shop.

"It's only been a month," She explained, hopping out of the car, "So, you don't want to do anything too fancy. Just something small and thoughtful that you know she'll like."

"Can I just give her a gift card?" Matt asked, looking doubtfully at the frilly boutique. Caroline laughed, slipping her arm through his, dragging him inside.

"_No."_

The place was dead. Anyone in their right mind was either at home in the safety of their air conditioning or swimming. This particular shop had been a discovery of Caroline's when she'd been looking for something to give Bonnie for her sixteenth birthday. She was a frequent customer, and she knew the two older sisters who ran the shop well. Eleanor and Jane. Both were widowed and had decided to move in together and start their own business. All of the jewelry and accessories in the shop were hand made by the two of them. It was adorable.

Eleanor , who was at the counter, reading a copy of _US Weekly_, looked up at the sound of the bell and smiled. "Caroline!"

"Hey, Ellie!" She gave Matt a reassuring look, though he still kind of seemed like he wanted to flee. "This is my friend Matt. He's trying to get his girlfriend something nice for their one month anniversary. Any suggestions?"

"Hm," The older woman came around the counter, "What does she like?"

"Um," Matt shrugged, "I don't really know. I mean, I think her favorite color is purple, but other than that…we don't talk much."

"_Matt,"_ Caroline laughed, elbowing him lightly.

"No!" He realized what he'd said and how it sounded. "Oh, no…not like that." Eleanor only smiled. "I just meant that she's pretty quiet and all we really do is go to the movies where you don't get to talk much anyway."

"Uh huh," Caroline winked at him, turning back to Ellie. "Clearly we need help with this."

"Well, I do have something," Ellie said, walking back toward the counter and gingerly lifting a necklace with a heart shaped pendant on the end. "It's a locket. It's a nice gesture, while still being more casual. You obviously don't want to give her a ring…"

"No," Matt agreed, shaking his head vigorously. "I'll take it." Caroline chuckled when he sighed in relief.

"Um, a word of advice?" She said when they were leaving. "Get to know her before next month."

"Yeah," Matt laughed. "Hey, you wanna get some ice cream?"

"I—" She cut off when she noticed his eyes focus on something behind her.

"Yes, Caroline," A voice came, "How about it?" Whirling around, she already had her arms crossed when she saw Klaus's smirking face standing there. The look he was giving her was unnerving. Even though his smile seemed casual, there was something unsettling in his eyes. Keeping her eyes on his in challenge, she spoke to Matt.

"I'd love to." Raising her eyebrows to dare Klaus, the smile left his face.

"Me too," Klaus shocked her by saying as he stepped between the pair and glared down at her companion. Matt shifted uncomfortably.

"You know, I could probably just let you two—"

"Don't you _dare_," Caroline hissed, glancing over at him over Klaus's shoulder. If there was one thing she didn't tolerate from anyone, it was jealousy. Caroline was the most loyal girlfriend on the planet. She'd never cheated on anyone. She'd seen what her father's indiscretions had done to her mother, and she wasn't going to put anyone through that.

"No, by all means, Matt," Klaus said, "Do join us."

"I'm going to kill you," She growled up at him, making his smile tighten.

"You can't." He reminded her cockily.

Of all the situations that Caroline had ever imagined herself in, sitting between Klaus and Matt Donovan in an old fashioned ice cream shop was not something she could have ever dreamed up. It was beyond awkward. She ordered her usual, mint chocolate chip with hot fudge. Matt always got sherbet. She found herself fascinated with what Klaus would order, and was slightly disappointed when he ordered plain vanilla. He was such a creature of extravagance, she expected him to go for Moose Tracks or Rocky Road or something. But then, in a way, it was almost funny. Because maybe at heart, Klaus _did_ have simple tastes and all of the over the top stuff was just for show.

Or maybe it was just ice cream.

* * *

Damon was in Heaven. He was pretty sure, because he had no intentions of ever moving and had never been as comfortable as he was right this moment. Elena was asleep, nestled against his side. She looked less conflicted than he'd seen her in months. They were all finally in a good place. Stefan had moved back into the house and even though he was still broody as ever, he actually seemed like he was accepting this whole situation. Even better, the sire bond had been inadvertently broken.

She was really his.

God, he was getting sappy. He hated it. He'd have to do something diabolical soon to uphold his bad boy image. His eyes fell to Elena again and he smirked. Dastardly plans would have to wait. He was far too comfortable. Her eyes opened and she sat up tiredly, holding the sheet up around her bare chest.

"Crap," She muttered, futilely attempting to fix her mussed hair, "How long was I out?"

"'Bout two hours," he informed her, turning to lie on his side with his arm supporting his head. He brushed her hair back, out of her eyes. "You were tired."

"I'm kind of sore," She admitted sheepishly, laughing at herself and stretching.

"Why not try out the Jacuzzi for size?" Damon suggested, throwing the sheet off and moving to the tub.

"Oh my God, that actually sounds really awesome," Elena agreed, getting up and pulling on a robe. "You really went all out this afternoon," she added.

"Yeah, well…it's kind of nice to have no distractions," Damon told her, turning on the faucet.

"You mean the kids?" She asked wryly.

"Yeah, those brats," He laughed, testing the water. Perfect. "I actually have another birthday present for you." He left her to watch the water fill and pulled his robe on around himself, moving to his suitcase while she watched him suspiciously. He'd been holding onto this until he thought she was ready for it, and he wasn't really sure how she would react, but he knew the timing was right. He took the small, wrapped box into his fingertips and brought it back to her.

"What is this?" She asked, smiling as she took it from him. "You shouldn't have done this…you've already spent too much—"

"I didn't spend anything on this," He told her quietly, sitting beside her. "Open it." Her eyes were full of confusion as she gingerly began to unwrap it. He watched her eyes widen when she saw what it was.

"How did you…?"

"That night you turned it off, I knew you were going to do something rash, so I grabbed them before you did it," He confessed, "I hope you're not mad."

"Of course I'm not mad," She told him in a choked voice, reading aloud, "Dear Elena, it's no easy task being an ordinary parent to an extraordinary child…you saved my letter, his ring…" She looked up at him. He gave her a small smile.

"There's one more thing in there," he motioned for her to look again, before turning off the water and watching her brows furrow as she turned back to the box and gasped. Carefully, she withdrew a picture of her family, placed carefully in a new frame. Four Gilberts smiled at the camera with their arms around each other.

"This is…the best gift I've ever gotten," She sniffed, putting everything carefully back into the box and setting it on the counter, before coming to him. "I love you, Damon. Thank you." Feeling a rush of emotion, he pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you too. Now, let's get in before the water gets cold."

* * *

"I cannot _believe_ you went all Alpha Male and got jealous over Matt," Caroline fired at Klaus when he brought her home.

"I'm not an idiot, Caroline," He countered, "I know you two have history."

"_Ancient_ history, practically!" She pushed his chest in frustration. "I'm _not_ a cheater! Of course, I'm not even sure we're officially…anything. You've never told me one way or another!"

"You mean you can't tell by now?" He asked, giving her a petulant look.

"You wrote me a letter. We've made out once. You won't sleep with me." She shrugged desperately, "I have no clue what's going on."

"Then maybe we should just quit while we're ahead," He sighed, turning and starting to walk away. Her pulse quickened in anger and fear, tears springing into her eyes.

"Go on then!" She spat, "Push me away like you push everybody away, because you can't trust anyone!" He spun around, glaring at her.

"_Don't_—"

"No, _you_ don't!" She screamed, crying now, "You can't just run away every time something gets tough! You can't give up every time you hit a snag!"

"I've been doing quite well with that method for the past thousand years," He retorted acidly, looking away from her.

"And look at you!" Caroline exclaimed, "You've been _alone._ People are terrified of you. You are so _afraid_ of letting someone in, because you don't think you deserve it. But, I can't accept that. Everyone deserves love." Her eyes blazed into his and she didn't care how much mascara was pooling around her eyes, she was going to say her piece. "I'm not giving up on you, Klaus. So don't _you_ give up on _me!"_ There was a long pause before she saw it…his surrender. His shoulders fell and his eyes welled up, his arms going up in defeat.

"I couldn't give up on you if I tried…and I have tried, Caroline," He sighed, angrily. "But I can't stand the thought of…" He trailed off, stopping himself and shaking his head. She moved closer to him, reaching tentatively out to him.

"I'm not going anywhere," She insisted, lifting her hand to his face and gently turning his head to look at her again. "I'm so sorry that your parents didn't give you the love you should have gotten. But I am not _them._"

"What do you _want_ from me?" He asked harshly, clenching his jaw.

"_Trust."_ She told him, "You have to trust me…okay?" He watched her, unblinking, but he gave her a barely detectable nod. Swallowing the painful lump in her throat, she put her arms around him and pulled him into a tight embrace, holding him as fiercely as she could manage. He seemed surprised, but reluctantly put his arms around her, burying his face into her hair and taking deep breaths. Caroline was surprised by how protective she felt over him. If ever she'd thought he was able to be saved, this only strengthened her resolve to stick it out. She still wasn't quite ready to commit for eternity, but it was a start. Pulling back, she gave him a wobbly smile, using the pad of her thumb to wipe the errant tear from beneath his eye. He looked slightly terrified.

"I don't know how…"

"I know," She gave a watery laugh. "We can learn together. But I need to know…are we a thing?" Caroline watch him let out a ragged breath as he pulled her close to him with her ear over where his heart was.

"Caroline," He whispered, resting his cheek on top of her head, "We're _everything."_


	6. The Truth Is A Bitch

"Caroline, we need to talk," Liz Forbes said when her daughter came inside. Caroline knew that look on her mother's face. It was the 'I don't approve of what you're doing' look. Swallowing, she glanced nervously at the door and decided to play it casual.

"What's up?" She asked, brushing past her mother and into the kitchen to find something to drink. It would give her a distraction if nothing else.

"What's going on with you and…and that…man?" Her mother didn't sound half as confident as she was trying to appear to be. Caroline knew there was no love lost with her and Klaus after everything he'd done in this town. After killing Tyler's mother.

"Um," Caroline began, opening a bottle of water and using it as an excuse to think for a moment. "We're…"

"You can't," Liz interjected firmly, looking more resolute.

"Mom," She set the water aside. "It's not…he's—"

"A murderer," Liz reminded her coldly, "A sociopath. He's tried to kill you!"

"He wouldn't hurt me," Caroline told her, though she knew that her argument sounded lame. How could she possibly explain that she knew implicitly that Klaus wouldn't do anything to hurt her? That for some reason that she still couldn't figure out, he was in love with her. That even though he'd done horrible things, he wasn't lost. There was _good _in him.

How could she convey these things to her mother, who only saw a threat to her one and only child?

"He _has_ hurt you!" Liz cried, raising her voice.

"I know," She sighed, trying to reason with her mother. "But things have changed."

Liz shook her head fiercely. "No. I won't allow it."

"You don't have a _choice," _Caroline exclaimed defiantly, "Mom, I am eighteen years old. I'm a high school graduate now."

"He's evil, Caroline!" Her mother looked hurt, which caused her heart to clench in regret, but she wasn't going to back down on this. Not after the progress she'd just made with Klaus outside. If anything, she was more determined to prove that he could be redeemed.

"He is _not,"_ Caroline returned, "He has his flaws, I'll give you th—"

"You _love_ him," Her mother gasped in horror, bringing her hands to her mouth. Caroline froze, unable to speak. Her eyes were wide, her mouth slightly agape. The pair stared at each other for a long beat, waiting for the other to make a move. Caroline finally broke.

"No, I don't," She whispered.

"Yes, you do," Liz said, tearing up and shaking her head in disbelief. "Oh my God."

"If I did," Caroline started hesitantly, "Would it make a difference?" Liz turned back to face her, tears slipping delicately down her lovely face and breaking her daughter's heart. If there was anyone that Caroline didn't want to hurt on this Earth, it was her mother. Her beautiful, lonely mother who deserved so much more than the crap she'd gotten since she'd learned her husband was leaving her for a man.

"He's not good enough for you," Liz choked, making Caroline want to die.

"That's for me to decide," She murmured as gently as possible. "I'm _sorry,_ Mom." A small nod came from her mother as she started toward the hallway.

Liz didn't turn to face her again as she said, "He is not welcome in this house."

"Fair enough," Caroline agreed, feeling her face crumple as she watched her mother silently walk away from her. An anguished sob wretched from her chest, causing her to gasp for air and making her lungs ache with the labor of drawing in breath as she sagged against the doorframe.

Grabbing her keys, she fled the house and drove as fast as she could to the boarding house, taking care to watch the road between sobs. Mercifully, Stefan must have heard her pull into the driveway, because the door opened before she even reached it. She dove into his waiting arms, burying her face into his chest and letting him guide her inside without a word, shutting the door and locking it.

"Are you okay?" He asked, sitting her on the sofa and pouring her a glass of bourbon.

"I'm sorry for barging in," She told him, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I just…"

"You don't have to apologize for coming over here, Caroline," He sighed, handing her the drink, "Ever. Okay?" She nodded, taking a long, soothing sip of the burning alcohol.

"I got in a fight with Mom," She admitted when she was able to talk again, gladly accepting a tissue from him. At his questioning look, she added, "About Klaus." His eyebrows rose in sudden understanding and he moved to sit beside her.

"I take it she doesn't approve?"

"Understatement," She laughed bitterly, "She tried to forbid me from seeing him."

"Yikes," Stefan chuckled. "Sorry…so what happened?"

"So we argued and then she told me I'm in love with him, and—"

"Are you?" Stefan gently inquired.

"No…" She answered after a moment, scowling at the wry grin threatening on his face. "I'm _not!"_ She added forcefully.

"Well, I'm not going to judge you either way," He shrugged, "I have no room to talk…ripper past and all."

"Yeah well…you weren't really in your right mind…and you joined Klaus to save your brother," she pointed out, "You gave up your humanity to save Damon. Because you love him."

"Against my better judgment, I really do love my brother," Stefan concurred, laughing. "And maybe someday, it won't kill me every time I see him with Elena. But, I don't blame him…he didn't force her to fall in love with him. Even though I wished that were true when you and I figured out that Elena was sired to him…I'm happy they're happy."

"You'll find someone too," Caroline promised him tearfully. Stefan smiled sadly.

"Maybe," He allowed, "Maybe in five hundred years, when the next doppelganger is born, I can have my chance." His voice was teasing, but his eyes were anything but. If one were to guess, he looked devastated.

"You're my best friend," She heard herself say, "I just thought you should know. I love you, Stefan." This made him genuinely smile.

"I love you too, Caroline. You're the sister I never had," He took her hand. "And you need to know, if you _do_ love Klaus…that's okay."

"One step at a time," She told him, wiping her eyes again. "But I think I really, _really_ actually like him."

"In my day, marriages were built on less," He pointed out, grinning. Caroline snorted, laughing at him.

"In _your_ day?" She giggled, "God, Damon's right! You _are_ a grandpa."

"I could have been twice over," was his response.

* * *

Klaus knew he wasn't alone from the moment he walked into the house, smelling the familiar fragrance of his brother's preferred cologne. He rolled his eyes, not wanting to deal with Elijah and his ridiculous endeavor to find a woman who had disappeared a thousand years ago. It wasn't a subject he wanted to revisit, when it had practically torn them apart. It hadn't been Tatia's fault that she'd been so appealing. He'd sometimes allowed himself to think of her over the years.

But then, Klaus had never truly wanted her.

He'd thought so once, but he knew now that it had been a pathetic need to beat his older brother at _something_ that had driven him to pursue her out of spite. Elijah had always been their mother's favorite and she'd made no secret about it. Klaus had no illusions about his father's feelings toward him. Mikael had never tried to conceal what a disappointment his third child was to him. So, when Tatia had first shown interest in him, he'd been flattered. He'd been triumphant.

But he'd been young. And something had been missing, because Tatia's heart wasn't fully his. He'd discovered she and Elijah in the woods one afternoon while hunting with Kol and had felt a hatred that he'd never thought possible. After they'd all been turned and he'd activated the werewolf gene he hadn't know he possessed, he'd learned why Mikael had never loved him. Would never love him.

He was a bastard. An abomination.

His mother had lain with another man and had born a son. Mikael had deemed him unworthy of love from his birth, and had made him an outcast in his own family. Which only made Elijah's betrayal with Tatia all the more hurtful. From then on, Klaus had never allowed his emotions to rule him again, seeking only power and control.

Until Caroline.

He'd written her off as nothing but common vampire fare. A generic blonde with nothing to offer him, until he'd met and cured her. And he'd seen defiance in her eyes that no person, not even his siblings had dared to use against him. He didn't frighten her, this little nobody who was nothing but a small town prom queen with little in her head other than fluff. Klaus had been with his share of women, of course, but his usual companion du jour was a submissive little mouse with a pretty face. Despite his best efforts to leave her alone to her silly little life, Klaus had found himself drawn to her. The more she'd resisted him, the harder he'd fought to have her. Now he did have her, and he was terrified of losing her…though he'd never admit that to anyone…not even himself.

Elijah was sitting patiently in the parlor, with his legs crossed and a drink in hand. He looked up when Klaus entered.

"Niklaus," He said pleasantly. Klaus ignored him, moving to pour himself a drink. "I thought you might like to know what I've learned."

"Do I look like I care?" He asked coldly, sitting in the chair beside his brother's. Elijah looked unfazed by Klaus's surly demeanor.

"Call me curious," Elijah retorted. "Have you ever heard of 'the fallen'?"

"The fallen?"

"Ayana's Grimoire revealed that Tatia was chosen because she was a descendent of 'the fallen'," Elijah revealed, watching Klaus closely. "Does that…mean anything to you?"

"Should it?" Klaus snapped impatiently.

"I was hoping…" His brother shook his head. "Never mind," He sighed, rising. "I shouldn't have come to you with this. I'll leave you now." Klaus growled in frustration, knowing his brother's strategy.

"Wait," He rolled his eyes in annoyance, getting up and crossing to him. "I have a contact at Oxford. She specializes in ancient legends and text. She may be able to tell us something," Klaus said, hating the hope that had sprung into his brother's eyes. "I will email her in the morning, but no guarantees."

"Thank you," Elijah told him sincerely, "I know this isn't easy for you."

"You know nothing," Klaus muttered, bitterly. "And you still don't know how to wake her."

"Baby steps," Elijah nodded. "I'll let you be. But Niklaus?" Klaus didn't acknowledge him, but he knew his brother would have his say anyway. "I'm sorry about everything…with Tatia. I know it's been too long to matter now, but I am sorry."

"Don't apologize, Elijah," Klaus admonished, though his tone was gentler, "It's tacky." He noticed a ghost of a smile in his brother's eyes.

"Always the optimist, Niklaus."

* * *

"Hey, Rebekah!" April Young's maddeningly cheerful voice caught Rebekah's attention. Though Rebekah certainly wasn't going to risk losing the one friend she did have, she sometimes fantasized about snapping the ridiculous creature's neck just to shut her up.

"Hello, April," She smiled, forcing herself to sound perky. "Matt's not working tonight…"

"Oh I know," April nodded, smiling, "He's actually meeting me. It's our one month." She held up a wrapped gift. Rebekah managed a tight smile.

"Oh, that's lovely," She agreed, feeling a sick tug of jealousy in her gut. "Well, you can sit anywhere. The place is pretty dead. Can I get you a drink?"

"Um, just water…I'm trying to watch my weight," The girl replied, smiling widely and sitting at a booth while Rebekah moved to fetch her a glass of water. It wasn't that she _disliked_ April, per se. She was a perfectly nice person if not a bit obnoxious at times with her naiveté. It was the fact that April was _too_ nice and _too_ perfect for Matt Donovan, and it really irritated her.

Not that Matt would ever go for Rebekah. She'd tried to kill him almost a year ago. He'd made it perfectly clear what he thought of her…even though she had attempted to make amends by buying him a new truck. Unfortunately, if one truly wanted forgiveness, it had to be earned, not bought. The truck was still sitting in her garage, unused. It was a bad habit of hers, trying to charm and bribe her way out of trouble. It had always been Nik's way as well, and it had always worked…until Matt.

Rebekah truly regretted what she'd done; she just wasn't sure how to prove it. And Matt wasn't exactly her biggest fan, so it wasn't like she could have a heart to heart. So instead, she watched him from the wings now. She'd watched him ask April out. She watched him smile and laugh with his friends and found herself wishing she could make him smile like that. When Matt really smiled, his entire face lit up and the most adorable laugh lines appeared around his striking light eyes.

"Rebekah," The bartender snapped at her, "That couple is ready for you to wait on them." She muttered a quick 'Sorry', making her way over to wearing Matt had just joined April, clutching the water in her hand and trying not to look when he kissed her.

"Hi," She said brightly, setting the water in front of April. Matt pretended to look intently at the menu, even though she knew that he was more familiar with it than anyone. "What can I get you?"

"I'll just have a salad," April said, smiling. Matt glanced up at her, frowning.

"Are you sure?" He asked, "You can get more than that, April."

"Oh, no…I'm not that hungry," April assured him, though judging by the rumbling of the girl's stomach, she was lying. Though, Matt wouldn't hear that with human ears. He looked like he wanted to argue with her, but kept his eyes down as he told Rebekah his order.

"I'll have a burger. Medium. No tomato. Steak fries," He explained curtly. Rebekah quickly nodded and turned to go put in the orders.

"You should be nicer to Rebekah," She could hear April saying. It annoyed her, because Rebekah didn't want her help. She didn't need April to fight her battles. If Matt Donovan was going to hate her, then let him hate her. She wasn't going to stop him. She wouldn't say anything to him unless he wanted her to. She wouldn't even say anything when Matt opened his gift and saw that it was a football jersey of a team that he neither rooted for nor liked. She'd heard him talking to Tyler about it before. He was a Steelers fan and always had been because his father had hated them. So, even though he pretended to like the New England Patriots jersey, Rebekah knew that he was lying.

And that kind of made her night the slightest bit better.

* * *

**June 24, 2011**

It had been a perfect vacation, but Elena was ready to be home in her own bed. She wanted nothing more than to take a bath in Damon's ridiculous bathtub and curl up in her soft bathrobe and just sleep. They had been driving since early in the morning, and Elena had slept nearly the entire way. She finally woke when they were crossing the town line. Checking her phone for the first time in days, she noticed she had a text from Caroline.

**Got in a fight with Mom. Staying at your place. –C**

And one from Bonnie.

**Elijah was here. He's looking for Tatia's tomb. Call Me.**

"Anything interesting?" Damon asked, turning onto their street. Elena sighed, yawning.

"Caroline got into it with her mother and is staying with us—"

"Oh _goody…"_ He groaned.

"—and Bonnie needs me to call her. Elijah is looking for Tatia's tomb."

"Oh, so business as usual," he inserted dryly as she pulled up Bonnie's number.

"Yeah, I guess…" Elena nodded, pressing 'send'. Bonnie didn't answer, so she left a message. "Hey, it's me. Got your text. What's going on? Call me back."

Caroline was already asleep when they got in, and though Damon stayed up to talk to Stefan, Elena headed straight up to bed and fell into the clean sheets, falling into an immediate, deep slumber. She hadn't been this tired since the last time she'd been sick as a human, though she knew that a vampire couldn't actually get sick.

At some point during the night, Damon must have changed her clothes for her, because she woke up in a pair of shorts and a T-Shirt the next morning. She made her way downstairs to where Caroline was already awake, enjoying a blood bag and watching a rerun of Dance Moms.

"Hey!" She cried excitedly, setting aside the bag and running to throw her arms around Elena. "How was the trip?"

"Good!" Elena affirmed in a thick voice, "Wore me out."

"What did you…" Caroline covered her eyes, "Ew, never mind. Don't tell me." Her quick fire chatter made Elena grin. It was good to be home. "Hungry?"

"God _yes,_" Elena nodded, moving to grab a bag of blood out of the refrigerator, greedily biting it open and drinking as fast as she could. "So, what happened with your mom?"

"Oh my God," Caroline cringed, "It was so bad, Elena. Short story, she found out about Klaus and I and basically forbid me to date him." Elena's mouth formed into an 'O' shape. "So I argued with her and told her that it wasn't up to her…and I left."

"I'm sure she'll come around…?" Elena offered, though she was doubtful Sheriff Forbes would ever accept that Caroline wanted to get naked with El Diablo himself. She couldn't exactly tell her friend that Klaus hadn't exactly won any awards for good citizenship and nobody knew that better than Caroline's mother. But Elena also knew that if _her_ mother was still around, she'd try to work it out. If Jeremy's death had taught her anything, it was that nobody was invincible. And Sheriff Forbes wouldn't be around forever.

"Yeah, right…" Caroline gave a sardonic laugh.

"So, what's all this about Tatia's tomb?" Elena asked, changing the subject. Caroline gave her a blank look.

"All what?"

"Haven't you talked to Bonnie?" Elena asked, confused as she took another drink of her blood.

"No…I haven't heard from Bonnie in like a month," Caroline told her. "What about Tatia's tomb?"

"I don't know," Elena countered, "Bonnie wants me to call her. I guess Elijah went to visit her."

"Well, call her!" Caroline shrugged, returning to the T.V., watching intently as two women screeched at each other, hurling names. "Argh, Christie is such a bitch!"

"Uh huh," Elena said, distracted as she dialed Bonnie's number, putting it on speaker. She picked up immediately.

"Elena! Hey!"

"Hey, you. Caroline's here too!" Elena told her.

"Oh, hey! Sorry I haven't called, Care, been busy. Mom and I have been checking out 'the fallen.'" Bonnie explained apologetically.

"What's that?" Elena asked, frowning and meeting Caroline's questioning eyes.

"When Elijah and I found the page with the immortality spell that Esther used on the Originals, there was a passage. It said 'Only a descendant of the fallen will create immortality.'"

"A descendant of the fallen?" Elena repeated.

"Tatia," Bonnie explained, as Caroline muted the T.V., looking confused.

"I'm a descendant of Tatia…" Elena replied in a hushed voice, looking at Caroline, stricken. "That means I'm also a descendant of 'the fallen'. The Petrovas…"

"Wait," Caroline said, "Hold the phone…Tatia was a Petrova?" Her eyes were wide with surprise.

"The Original Petrova, actually," Elena confirmed, thinking of when she'd read over the Petrova book and had seen Tatia's name at the beginning. Her daughter had been Helena. Tatia hadn't technically been a Petrova by name, but the bloodline had begun with her and she'd been included as Helena's birth mother. Her daughter had been given to the Petrova family, which resulted in Katherine and ended with Elena, though according to the book, it had ended with Katerina.

"And Esther used her to create the Originals?" Caroline went on.

"All of the children had to drink wine laced with Tatia's blood for the spell work," Bonnie explained. "Well, I found a hidden passage by Ayana," She told them. "She wrote, 'The brothers will reconcile when the complication is removed. She said that Esther took Tatia to end the feud between her sons, who were both in love with Tatia. Ayana was against all of this, but she wrote it so that we would know it was wrong."

"So, two of the Originals were in love with Tatia?" Elena struggled to understand, watching Caroline's eyes narrow at nothing in particular.

"Klaus said that Elijah was searching for his long lost love. Tatia…maybe it was Kol?" She wondered aloud, though Elena had her suspicions. Things were starting to come together in her mind, and she wasn't sure Caroline was going to like the answer.

"It wasn't Kol," Bonnie said hesitantly into the phone.

"Well, if it wasn't Kol…it couldn't have been the younger brother..." Caroline went on as Elena braced herself, "And Stefan told me about Finn, which leaves…" Her eyes opened wide and a little gasp left her. "Oh my God."

"Klaus," Bonnie finished grimly.

"Oh, my _God!"_ Caroline repeated, shaking her head. Elena winced, putting a hand over her friend's.  
"A complication with his brother…" She was murmuring, "That little _liar!"_

"It's been a thousand years, Caroline…" Elena cut in, "I doubt that's still a thing."

"I'm going to _destroy _him," The blonde said murderously.

"Why don't you just ask him about it?" She suggested.

"I'm sorry, am I missing something here?" Bonnie's confused voice came over the line.

"Oh, you guys haven't talked in a while…um," Elena's eyes flitted to Caroline's furious face, "Caroline and Klaus are kind of…together."

"I'm sorry, I just blacked out," Bonnie retorted dryly, "Please tell me I didn't just hear that Caroline is with _Klaus."_

"Okay, I won't tell you," Elena quipped, watching her friend closely. "Bonnie, I'm gonna have to let you go…I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay," Bonnie's quiet voice answered, "I have to go for a run anyway. Mom says the best way to connect with nature is to be in it." She hung up, leaving the room quiet for a few moments. Elena waited patiently for the explosion, watching it bubble up in Caroline's practically catatonic expression.

"Seriously?!" She growled, "He seriously couldn't tell me about this? So, what? They're going to dig this girl up and bring her back and then what? Then I get to compete with you all over again!" Caroline looked slightly devastated. "I mean, she's the one that you and Katherine and doppelgangers of, right?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"And he's going to take one look at _Tatia_ and forget why he ever thought I was anything special!" Though her friend was masking her fear with anger, Elena felt bad for her. Caroline was beautiful. Smart. Exceptional. And since she'd become a vampire, she'd finally begun to _believe_ it. Even if initially, the attention from Klaus had been unwanted, Elena knew she'd been flattered. It had made her feel special.

"No he's not," Elena assured her, feeling a little light headed. "Trust me Caroline, I've seen him with you. That is not the face of a man who is just going to forget you. He came back for you!" She leaned on the counter, feeling oddly weak as her vision blurred.

"I am going straight over there, and—" Caroline stopped, noticing. "Elena, are you okay? You don't look so g—"

Caroline was interrupted when Elena bent over and purged every ounce of blood she'd consumed, before falling unconscious while her friend screamed for help.


End file.
